Michiko appeared in a toothpaste commercial when she was a child, but her father, Muto, is in charge of a Yakuza clan. When the rival Yakuza clan arrived at his house to kill Muto, his wife, Shizue, massacred them all with a kitchen knife. She is sent to prison for ten years. Skip ahead ten years and the wife is being released from prison. She wants to see her daughter Michiko starring in a film, so Muto hires a passerby, Koji, who knows nothing about films, to direct. He then hires a group of amateur film-makers, which call themselves the Fuck-Bombers, to be in charge. To kill two birds with one stone, they organize the bloody battle between the Yakuza clans to be on the same day, and film it. The rival Yakuza clan is fronted by Ikegami, who has a crush on Michiko.
I was over the moon when I got the chance to see this film, as Sion Sono is one of the greatest directors that is still making films. I have seen nine of his films after watching 'Love Exposure', one of the greatest films of the 21st Century. I did this a while ago, so it's been some time since I have seen any of his films. None of his films reach the greatness of 'Love Exposure', but 'Why Don't You Play in Hell?' comes the closest.
Sono wrote the script for this 15 years ago. The story is confusing at first, but makes sense as the film continues. The story is completely absurd, filled with crazy characters and ridiculous events which would never happen in real life, but that is why it is so glorious. At the begining there are three main storylines, the Michiko and Koji, the Yakuza and the Fuck Bombers, which eventually intertwine with each other. My favourite is the Fuck Bombers storyline, purely for how insane it is. The film opens when the Fuck bombers are filming two people throwing eggs at each other, when they see a fight happening across the street, which they then film. When the story skips forward ten years, those characters are wearing the exact same clothes, and act completely the same. Every character in the film is iconic in their own unique ways.
The inevitable battle scene at the end is the craziest and bloodiest I have ever seen, with body parts flying everywhere and a thick layer of blood on the floor. Sono has made some gory films, but this is the goriest one yet. The last few minutes are unexpectedly emotional when (SPOILER 1). I have never seen a Yakuza film, but after watching 'Why Don't You Play in Hell?' I definitely intend to. Mafia films tend to be Scorsese biopics, but Yakuza films are more action-based and focus on rival clans.
The film does have deeper underlying meaning. Sono is making a statement about Hollywood making films purely for the money, as all the characters are prepared to die, to make one masterpiece. The passion has evaporated from most Hollywood films, so it's great to see it is still in effect here.
Everything that make Sono films different from anyone else's is all here. All of his auteur trademarks (Teenagers yelling, lots of blood) with his usual mixture of J-pop and classical music. This a must-see Sono film that is very accessible and, therefore, a good place to start watching his films.
TO CONCLUDE
Sono at his most insane. This film is brilliant and had me smiling throughout. Funny, bloody and completely preposterous.
SCORE
92
SPOILER 1 (highlight)--> The leader of the fuck bombers see all of his friends die. He imagines they are at the premier of the film, and everyone is clapping them.<--
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