LOVE AND PEACE. (2015) AS SEEN AT THE GLASGOW FILM FESTIVAL. DIRECTED BY SION SONO. STARRING HIROKI HASEGAWA AND KUMIKO ASO. REVIEW BY SANDRA HARRIS. ©
This is a highly imaginative and unusual film. It's a Japanese fantasy drama that takes the viewer to places (s)he definitely wouldn't have expected to be brought to. Unless (s)he had already read the movie synopsis, haha. I hadn't read any advance publicity whatsoever, so I was a bit like: 'Whaaat?' when I saw it for the first time.
I watched this film with my son, who was up in his room reading footy mags when I switched on the movie. He was lured down the stairs by the irresistible siren song of a miserable Japanese man singing loudly and plaintively about his lost turtle. Yep, that'll do it every time...!
LOVE AND PEACE is the story of a guy called Ryoichi Suzuki. He's kind of a weirdo loner-slash-loser, dreaming of pop star success while working as a lowly clerk and being ridiculed by his co-workers. His only friend is a tiny turtle called Pikadon. Awwwww...! So cute.
An incident in the workplace ends with poor Pikadon being flushed ignominiously down the office bog. Waaaaaaah! Not Pikadon...! All is not lost for dear little Turtle, however. He floats down the sewers to a place called Lost And Found Heaven, which is populated by all the toys and pets that get flushed down the toilet or otherwise abandoned in some way. Believe me, after watching this film, you'll never treat your Teddy or your Tiny Tears doll carelessly again. I know I won't...!
Dear little Turtle lands on his feet in Lost And Found Heaven, so to speak. His sweet little turtle feet, to be precise, which are so teensy and darling. The discarded toys and pets make him instantly welcome, as does 'Pa,' the elderly man who seems to run the underground menagerie. 'Pa' even gives the little guy drugs- well, that's what it looks like!- that make him grow bigger for some reason. Much, much, much bigger...
Meanwhile, above ground, Ryoichi's life has taken a strange turn. Long story short, he gets signed to a major record deal after some music moguls hear him singing the beautiful heartfelt song that lured my curious son down the stairs. And the only thing that normally achieves that miracle is the promise of food, lots and lots and lots of food...!
Ryoichi is transformed into 'Wild Ryo,' a sexy rock/pop star who fronts the band Revolution Q and whose song about his little lost turtle becomes a huge hit after the lyrics are changed from 'Pikadon' to the titular 'Love And Peace.' He never stops missing his turtle, however, and below ground, all that not-so-little-anymore Pikadon desires is to be re-united with his beloved owner. They really, really love each other.
Can the unhappy Ryoichi- sorry, Wild Ryo- have both music success and his precious turtle all at the same time? Oh, and will he get the girl too, a mopey string of misery called Yuko, the one person in his old office who didn't think he was a dweeb...? It's all in the lap of the gods for now, people.
One thing's for sure, the road to the film's heartrending climax has many twists and turns and your heartstrings will be subjected to a right old tugging. Mine nearly needed massaging when the film was over...! My son and I cried, laughed like idiots and hugged each other from start to finish. Then we grinned sheepishly at each other and went back about our separate business, haha.
Any scenes starring Pikadon the Adorable Singing Turtle are just lovely, even when he's grown out of all proportion and is cutting an hilarious Gojira-style swathe through downtown Tokyo to the glorious strains of Ludwig Van Beethoven's Ode To Joy. Or was Ode To Joy Mozart? I must google that. Anyway: 'Luckily, his snail's pace is allowing all citizens to escape safely...!' Or words to that effect, haha.
My next favourite scene (after Pikadon's ever-so-slow-and-gentle rampage...!) is when the misery-crazed Ryoichi is singing his sad I Lost My Turtle But I'll Never Forget Him And I'll Always Love Him song on the street with the band Revolution Q. Everyone expects him to be shite but he's the exact opposite of shite. He's freakin' awesome...! His transformation into an egotistical rock star phoney is pretty witty, too. Ah, rock stars. Such mad characters they are.
The whole film is infused with whimsy and wonder and, in short, it's something of a delight. It's
due for home entertainment release any time now and, if you like whimsy and wonder, you should definitely buy it. If, on the other hand, whimsy and wonder sets your teeth on edge and makes you want to rip your own pubes out by the roots, well, I guess you're off the hook. But hey, you'll be missing out big-time. Choose wisely, my dear movie buddies. Choose wisely...! AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY OF SANDRA HARRIS.
Sandra Harris is a Dublin-based novelist, film blogger and movie reviewer. She has studied Creative Writing and Film-Making. She has published a number of e-books on the following topics: horror film reviews, multi-genre film reviews, womens' fiction, erotic fiction, erotic horror fiction and erotic poetry. Several new books are currently in the pipeline. You can browse or buy any of Sandra's books by following the link below straight to her Amazon Author Page:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B015GDE5RO
You can contact Sandra at:
http://sandrafirstruleoffilmclubharris.wordpress.com
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