Sounds like Sono
Japanese director changes his tune with "Why don't you play in hell?"
Sion Sono's latest film, “Jigoku de NazeWarui” (“Why Don’t You Play in Hell?”) has something for everybody: action, comedy and romance. Even adolescents haven’t been left out.
After releasing two films last year, “Himizu” and “Kibo no Kuni” (“The Land of Hope”), both of which are set in Japan after the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011, Sono wanted to make a more entertaining movie. His previous films depict a selection of experiences in the aftermath of the disaster through stories in which extraordinary situations became a daily occurrence.
“The two films are themed around the disaster,” he says. “When I showed these films in the disaster region, people there told me they were pleased and congratulated me on a good job, but the films weren’t entertaining for them to watch. So this time, I wanted to make a film that is simply entertaining.”
“Jigoku de NazeWarui” was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival in September and won the People’s Choice Award for the Midnight Madness section.
In the movie, a gang leader (Jun Kunimura) decides to produce a film starring his daughter (FumiNikaido) to make the dream of his wife come true. His film production begins with a group of indie film producers, led by a would-be film director (Hiroki Hasegawa), risking their lives.
“I was able to make a movie that is entertaining in every respect because I’d just made two films that focused on serious social issues,” Sono says.
He wrote the new film’s script about 20 years ago. At the time, he had already been critically acclaimed for his indie films. He began writing mainstream scripts for major films.
“I tried to write scripts that would please film producers, but I was unsuccessful,” he says. “I was similar to the would-be film director played by Mr Hasegawa [in the new film]. My ideas weren’t accepted at all, but I had plenty of time on my hands at the time, so I could come up with a good script [for the new film].”
He says that 99 per cent of his new movie’s script is unchanged from the original. Of the remaining 1 per cent, he adds that depictions on how filmmaking using 35mm film had become less used today due to digitalised film techniques.
“As I’d always made low-budget films, I haven’t used 35mm film for many years,” he says“As a filmmaker, I don’t miss this kind of film, actually. But as a film fan, I’m attached to it. So I wanted to include some [elements associated with 35mm film] in the film.”
Prior to his two films about the disaster, Sono made “Ai no Mukidashi” (Love Exposure) and “TsumetaiNettaigyo” (Cold Fish), which both focus on violence and sex.
“I want to make more films that are purely entertaining,” he says. “After that, I may make films with a completely different approach. I want to make a greater variety of films.”
He has already finished shooting his next film, “Tokyo Tribe,” which is an adaptation of a manga depicting young people living among violence, love and friendship, to be released next year.
He will start making his next film in November, which is “a fantasy exclusively for primary school children,” Sono says. “It has warm touches. I may be truly talented in this field as my name, when written in kanji, literally means ‘warm garden for children’.”
