Love and Peace (2015)

	Also Known As: Rabu & Pisu
	Year of first release: 2015
	Director: Sion Sono
	Actors: Hiroki Hasegawa, Kumiko Aso, Toshiyuki Nishida
	Country: J
	Genre: SF, Drama, Comedy
	Conditions of visioning: 28.05.2016, Mousonturm Saal, Japanese version with German subtitles, NCF2016
Synopsis: In the summer of 2015 in Tokyo, Japan. Ryoichi (Hasegawa) dreamed of becoming a punk rocker when he was younger, but became a timid salaryman at a musical instrument parts company. He has feelings for Yuko (Aso) but he can't tell her how he feels. One day, he has a fateful meeting with a turtle on the rooftop of a department store. He names the turtle Pikadon and he adores it, but his co-workers laugh at him. Ryoichi throws Pikadon into the toilet already eaten by his regrets. The turtle though goes through sewerage and meets an old man (Nishida) who lives in the underground. Something then happens.
Review: The originality of many Japanese movies and this one as well is to bring something completely strange but funny in a normal story. Giving life to this turtlethe way it is done could sound ridiculous for Western eyes but it is exactly what I like in Japan. Firework of creativity! And it is not ridiculous. The scenes with the turtle become sometimes hilarious, sometimes kitsch-wise dramatic. And the main story remains the social life of two electronic nerds Ryoichi and Yuko. Ok, some scenes might be ridiculous, but I am pretty sure it is done on purpose for the fun and the comedy. The reactions of the two nerds are relatively realistic even if sometimes it appears to me a bit exaggerated. It is then again for the sake of the comedy.  The creative work behind this movie is amazing! The characters gathered and cared by the old man, the underground scenery, the Godzilla-like run in the city, the source of successfull songs. All this was freely thought and I love the result. There are many things that only Japanese artists can dare and do. Western productions would never dare it. Then the movie in general might not be mine, but Hats off to Sion Sono who once again shows that he is a master of creativity (a long time) after the amazing Love Exposure.
Rating: 6 /10