SummaryThe final chapter of Sion Sono’s Hate Trilogy follows the wife of a famous novelist as she explores her sexuality.
Directed By:Sion Sono
Written By:Mizue Kunizane, Sion Sono
Guilty of Romance
Metascore
Mixed or Average
56
User score
Generally Favorable
6.6
My Score
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Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
25% Positive
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
75% Mixed
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Mar 13, 2014
80
Most disturbing and fascinating is the mixture of Izumi’s liberation with her degradation in this film, which plays like a more horrific version of David Lynch’s “Mullholland Drive.”
Mar 10, 2014
75
Though it begins with the aesthetic and conceptual rigor of Blade Runner, it quickly veers toward the gratuitous outlandishness of a Bruce La Bruce film.
Mar 13, 2014
60
There are too many twists, insignificant literary references and drawn-out scenes of sex and violence to sustain either the pic’s running time or its ideas, with Sono’s message obscured in the final reels by an ambiguous treatment of his leading ladies.
Mar 10, 2014
60
It’s a conversation starter: a cultish exploration of female sexuality in a culture dominated by prostitution and patriarchy.
Mar 13, 2014
50
Although the film’s dark humor and colorful, thriller aesthetics provide some juicy material at the beginning, its overindulgence in chatter, fornication and occasional gore feels too blatant to make Sono’s social commentary run anywhere but skin-deep.
Mar 11, 2014
50
Mostly, Guilty of Romance seems content allowing characters to verbally abuse each other before eventually reaching the inevitable conclusion that life is a burden and all love is illusory.
Mar 10, 2014
40
The pungent, ponderous final chapter of Sono's "Hate" trilogy (following Love Exposure and Cold Fish) bows out with lots of bangs and plenty of whimper.
User score
Generally Favorable
44% Positive
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
44% Mixed
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
11% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
May 14, 2023
6
Being a Sion Sono film, I found it more restrained than I expected. I mean, the plot is not ordinary, but for a film that deals with themes such as love, sex, perversion and violence, I didn't feel his customary abrasiveness. However, his provocative style is more than present. And so is his lack of coherence. In my opinion Guilty of Romance focuses on the message of the latent darkness behind Japanese society when it comes to sex and it's contradictory when they offer it so much but even when it comes to pornography, by law they can't project sexual organs, and these must be pixelated.
It's like saying that what you do at home or what you buy on the street regarding sex is a hidden part of who they really are and that's pretty much reflected in the lead character of this story. The themes are comprehensible but I recognize that it fails to communicate a clear message and that's a common problem with Sono.
I have always applauded that he is a director who dares to transgress and show the dark side of Japan, but his resources to express himself and his criticism, which includes sex and violence will only take you so far and Guilty of Romance like many of his films tends to crash against that barrier. It is both artistic and pretentious. Such is Sono's work.
There is much to criticize but also plenty to appreciate, but even in the face of the confusing and the brutal, it leaves no one indifferent.
