For those familiar with his work, the Japanese film-maker Sion Sono needs little introduction. Yet – perhaps rather surprisingly, given his extensive filmography – Sono’s cinema often finds itself hidden behind the doors of film festivals or on boutique film distribution labels.
Best-known internationally for his 2008 feature Love Exposure – a four-hour epic that explores religion, crime, family and perversion, all with a darkly comic undertone – Sono is a prolific artist. Across a career spanning more than three decades, he has more than 30 film credits to his name, including the violent horror satire Suicide Club (2001) and the erotic ‘pink film’ critique Antiporno (2016). Along the way, Sono has directed musicals (Tokyo Tribe, 2014), serious dramas (Himizu, 2011; The Land of Hope, 2012), and a rather camp but gory vampire miniseries (Tokyo Vampire Hotel, 2017). Often difficult to pin down (it has been claimed that the director is both a misogynist and a feminist), Sono’s filmography is perhaps best characterized by its idiosyncrasy – after watching one of his films, it is sure to stay with you, for better or for worse.
Sylwia Niemczyk: Laughter plays a big part in your films. When in your life did you realize that laughter could tame fear and suffering?
Sion Sono: Laughter is a tool that significantly relieves fear and pain. However, I do not plan my films around laughter; this is something that comes out rather spontaneously. In my films, humour is born naturally. Even though I don’t intend to make my audience laugh, when that laughter suddenly appears during the reception of the film, it might ease some of the suffering in one’s life.
Do you think that there is too little laughter in our world and in cinema?The world is so serious that it’s like watching a very dry and emotionless melodrama. That’s why I want our planet to overflow with humour and laughter. In the film industry, much like in real life, it’s quite the same – we have plenty of very unpleasant, dry and cruel elements that define this part of society. More and more laughter that will fill us with ease – that’s what we need.
What kind of humour is your favourite? Who makes you laugh – in real life, but also at the cinema?
The films that I like and that make me laugh are mainly those vulgar ones that would make regular audiences quite angry. And it’s pretty much the same with life – I like laughing at vulgar things that people normally would not.
What do you think about contemporary Japanese cinema and Japan’s film industry? How does it compare to contemporary American cinema?
I have a feeling that Japanese cinema is over… I think it’s become rusty. Very rusty. It tries to take on a challenge with a global perspective, but in fact it feels like a ‘Galápagos effect’ – it’s global, but it’s isolated. Of course, one can say the same things about the condition of American cinema, but I think the US still stands a chance of changing the situation. That’s also the reason why I’m currently considering leaving Japan for good to pursue making films in the States.
You are criticized for the cruelty and fear in your films. How do you feel about this?
As I said earlier, there is cruelty in the world and our lives abound in fear. That’s why I represent it in my films. Of course, reality is much worse, it’s more frightening. I actually used to make films of ordinary sentimentality, but after a certain point, I decided to depict the cruelty of reality and modern times with a more active approach. As I started to make cruel films, it became my way to reflect on the modern times.
What do you want to do with the audience of your films? To scare them? To give them a new look at the world?
Generally speaking, what really motivates me is the desire to create a stir among society with something unprecedented. Aside from that, I also love horror films that bring nothing but entertainment, so one of the things that I aim at is making my audience scared. On the other hand, thinking from a wider perspective, what I want to accomplish through my films is sending my message. I seek to capture what I want to say to people, and this is the most major thing I want to achieve in film – to convey my thoughts.
What are you afraid of?
What scares me the most is the direction our planet is heading in. Things such as ghosts don’t have the slightest effect on me.
Parts of this interview have been edited and condensed for clarity and brevity.
Translated from the Japanese by Łukasz Mańkowski
Read similar:
