This is one of those Japanese films that feels as though it has been made from near-random clips of soap operas and reality TV shows, stitched together into a whole that has no real center or meaning.
There are many moments early on that are genuinely laugh-out-loud funny, inventive, and iconoclastic, but there's nothing believable, relatable or insightful holding any of it together, and with a near- four-hour runtime, it's much too long and repetitive, when all the good stuff could have been conveyed in a quarter of the time. The 'love story' contains very little actual love, and almost none of the characters except for the lead are given any backstory or explanation for their actions.
"Love Exposure" is very clumsily put together, and after a while the lack of sense and direction just becomes exasperating and boring, so it's very hard to recommend it as a full film. But the good parts are very good when taken on their own.
There are many moments early on that are genuinely laugh-out-loud funny, inventive, and iconoclastic, but there's nothing believable, relatable or insightful holding any of it together, and with a near- four-hour runtime, it's much too long and repetitive, when all the good stuff could have been conveyed in a quarter of the time. The 'love story' contains very little actual love, and almost none of the characters except for the lead are given any backstory or explanation for their actions.
"Love Exposure" is very clumsily put together, and after a while the lack of sense and direction just becomes exasperating and boring, so it's very hard to recommend it as a full film. But the good parts are very good when taken on their own.