Love Exposure (Japanese: 愛のむきだし, Hepburn: Ai no mukidashi) is a 2008 Japanese epic romantic comedy-drama action film written and directed by Sion Sono. The film gained a considerable amount of notoriety in film festivals around the world for its four-hour runtime and themes including love, family, lust, religion and the art of upskirt photography. The first version was originally six hours long, but was trimmed at the request of the producers. However, an extended version was later released in 2017 as a 300-minute, 10-episode TV series, an arrangement also employed for two other of his movies.
Following its release, it won many awards and received acclaim from critics. At the Berlin International Film Festival, it won the Caligari Film Award and the FIPRESCI Prize.
Contents
Plot
Yū Honda is a Catholic teenager attempting to live his life faithfully. His father, Tetsu, has become a devout Catholic priest following the death of Yū's mother and operates his own church. Tetsu asks Yū to confess his sins, but Yū believes he is a good person who has little to confess. To appease his father, he makes up sins but his father sees right through him so Yū becomes obsessed with committing real sins. Yū befriends other boys and is taught to steal, fight, and take stealth photographs up women's skirts. Yū promptly becomes a skilled "panty shot" photographer. Though perceived as a pervert, he is never aroused by these photographs.