In a dystopian Tokyo, 23 “tribes” (read: gangs) rule different sections of the city. These tribes range from the GiraGira Girls, a group of women including a whip-cracking dominatrix, to the Musashino Saru, a gang all about promoting peace and love. But it’s the Bukuro Wu-Ronz running everything, and their leader Big Buppa (Takeuchi Riki) is not to be messed with. Mera, one of Bukuro Wu-Ronz’s top members, starts a feud with Musashino Saru heads Tera (Ryuta Sato) and Kai (Young Dais), and the battle soon spins out of control, involving every other tribe in an epic battle to become the most powerful in the city. And did I mention it’s a hip-hop musical? Welcome to the insane world of Sion Sono and Tokyo Tribe.

But that’s not all! There’s also the presence of Sunmi (Nana Seino), a mysterious girl dragged into the gang conflict with some serious fighting skills. In fact, a lot of the cast can fight really well. This also happens to be a highly kinetic action film, with numerous fight scenes placed in between the rap songs sung by the massive cast. Sometani Shota provides help for viewers as the film’s MC, walking around scenes rapping exposition about different tribes and their feuds with other gangs. Just don’t bother actually trying to understand what the hell is going on, though. Tokyo Tribe is so dense and convoluted there are already 50 other things occurring the minute after a scene ends.

The density and hyperactivity of Sono’s style prove his film’s biggest strength and weakness. Sono, working with what looks like his biggest budget to date, packs as much as he possibly can into each frame. His shots are more ambitious, letting things play out in long, elaborate single takes, the camera moving all over the place. The set design is on a whole other level compared to Sono’s previous films as well, with so many elaborately designed locations for each tribe. And Sono never takes a moment to breathe, whipping back and forth between places, stuffing each one with as many extras and activity as possible, all while putting the camera right in the middle of it. It’s exhilarating, but at the same time incredibly exhausting

Trying to watch Tokyo Tribe for its story, nothing more than a standard gangster epic with a message about community, won’t maximize the amount of shock and joy Sono throws around on-screen. It’s the quirks and little moments that work best. Like Big Buppa’s son having a room where people act as his furniture. Or a massive karate fighter wishing someone a happy birthday as they punch them 50 feet in the air (one of the fighter’s only lines: “Take me! To! A sauna!”). Or an army tank driving around Tokyo blowing shit up. Tokyo Tribe is full of these kinds of insane, world-building moments, most of them hilariously original and bonkers beyond belief.

And even though Sono’s restlessness can get tiring at times, it doesn’t take away from the utter brilliance of Tokyo Tribe. No one injects more insanity and ideas into their films on a moment-by-moment basis the way Sono does. It was hard to imagine how Sono could outdo his previous film Why Don’t You Play in Hell?, but with Tokyo Tribe he’s outdone himself completely, and by successfully taking on musicals he feels unstoppable. With a propulsive, catchy score, Tokyo Tribe doesn’t have to try to be energetic. It breathes vivaciousness. Tokyo Tribe will leave viewers dazed, assaulted, and mortified, but by the end they’ll be begging for more.

A version of this review was originally published as part of our coverage of the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.

Legendary Japanese filmmaker Sion Sono blew audiences away last year at TIFF (where we first saw it) with his insanely wild film Why Don’t You Play in Hell?, which he describes as “an action film about the love of 35mm.” This self-aware genre exploitation movie is based on a screenplay he wrote nearly fifteen years ago about an amateur film crew who earn an opportunity to film a live yakuza battle to the death. Filled with laughs, action, extreme violence, and general outrageousness, Why Don’t You Play in Hell? is often compared to the work of Quentin Tarantino. Watch the trailer below to see for yourself just how ridiculous (in the best way possible) the film looks.

Why Don’t You Play in Hell? will hit theaters and VOD on November 7th.

Why Don’t You Play in Hell? trailer

A shorter day compared to yesterday’s 4 films, but just as fulfilling. Starting off I was afraid that Cloud Atlas would be a terrible film to watch after getting 4 hours of sleep. Before I start hearing cries from people about how this site is about indie films, let me clear something up. Cloud Atlas was independently financed with a $100 million budget, with Warner Brothers only offering distribution. Once you see Cloud Atlas you’ll understand why the thing had to be made outside of the studio system. Using six different storylines with each one taking place at different time periods (the 1800s, 1930s, 1970s, 2012, 2144 and thousands of years in the future), the movie uses its ensemble cast throughout each segment to emphasize its themes of reincarnation and the cycle of life. It’s a massive undertaking from directors Tom Tykwer and the Wachowskis (Andy and Lana) which they amazingly pull off for the most part. Cloud Atlas is a massive, sprawling piece of work that puts the spectacle back into big budget films. The radical structure of the book is dropped for the film, with all six stories cross cutting each other. There have been complaints of the movie being too messy or confusing, but the structure is no worse than an episode of Game of Thrones. And while Cloud Atlas has its flaws, there are plenty of moments where I found myself seeing the big picture and fully realizing the weight of every storyline linking to one another throughout time. That alone makes Cloud Atlas a success, and worthy of exposure to the largest audience possible.

RATING: 7.5/10

Cloud Atlas

I followed Cloud Atlas with Sion Sono’s The Land of Hope. As a longtime fan of Sono’s work I came away from this film disappointed. Last year Sono was one of the first filmmakers to address Japan’s disastrous tsunami with Himizu, which used a teenage boy’s coming of age story as a symbol for Japan’s identity crisis after enduring another massive tragedy. While Himizu‘s immediacy made the film feel like an open wound as characters tried to understand what happened to them, The Land of Hope goes into the opposite direction. Using a more restrained style, Sono observes a family who get separated after another earthquake and tsunami hit the country. The family lives near a nuclear power plant, and we follow the parents as they stubbornly fight to stay while their son and daughter-in-law become paranoid of radiation exposure after re-locating. Sono, who is usually a master of pacing, takes his time here. The result is a mostly boring film, with melodramatic scenes that feel too staged and mawkish to earn any emotional response. Eventually The Land of Hope feels like it’s simply trudging along its bloated 140 minute length, with another subplot involving a neighbor going nowhere and the main family’s struggles creating a feeling of total indifference. The ending is a big eye roller too, as one of the characters states the movie’s message which could basically be summed up as “All you need is love.” Sion Sono is a total workhorse (he couldn’t make it to my screening because he was in the middle of shooting another film), and it’s a given that his work is hit and miss. Unfortunately, The Land of Hope is a total miss despite its heavy subject matter.

RATING: 5/10

The Land of Hope

NEXT UP: Nothing! Well, just for one day as I take a break before diving back in with Berberian Sound Studio.

Recap of some of my Tweets from today:

Follow @WayTooIndie for full coverage of the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival!

Say hello to the directors of CLOUD ATLAS #TIFF12 twitter.com/WayTooIndie/st…

— Way Too Indie (@WayTooIndie) September 9, 2012

CLOUD ATLAS: Welp, they did it. Huge epic, it’s faults are overshadowed by its huge ambitions. #TIFF12

— Way Too Indie (@WayTooIndie) September 9, 2012

THE LAND OF HOPE: Sion Sono tries his hand at a ‘serious’ film and suffers for it. Probably the first film of his I’d call boring. #TIFF12

— Way Too Indie (@WayTooIndie) September 9, 2012