Ai naki mori de sakebe: Deep Cut

I've been a Sono fan since stumbling across Cold Fish in a video store when it was first released. He isn't the kind of filmmaker that I'd put on any favorites lists, and he's one of those artists who seems too prolific for his own good, but his unique and fun style keeps me coming back. When Netflix released Forest of Love as a 2 1/2 hour film, I was disappointed. It was a jumbled mess- jumping between young teenage girls talking about their virginity, to a abusive, scheming man who is conning every woman (and their female relatives), to an amateur film crew who are always just... around. It seemed like a student film, all improvised scenes in random order and- I didn't get it.

Now, with the Deep Cut coming out of nowhere, I can say that almost everything I didn't like (or didn't understand) about the story is gone. With room to breath, the story is really very charming and funny when it's not displaying the absolute worst of human qualities. It's dark, strange, freewheeling, absurd, and most of all, fun. Forest of Love -Deep Cut- reminds me of the more psychedelic rock albums of the 70's... skilled, technically competent, but decidedly different.

Why Netflix released the film version at all, let alone first, is insane. You would think the "streaming giant" would be learning from past mistakes, consistently putting our better content, but no. They still spend millions a year on terrible stand-up comedy specials. They pay top dollar to "filmmakers" that make Tyler Perry look like Bresson... I bet "The I-Land" just got renewed for 5 seasons...

Forest of Love -Deep Cut- isn't perfect, but I have to assume perfection isn't something Sono strives for. If F.O.L. is like a 70's garage rock album, Sono himself is the ultimate punk rocker, which is maybe why "the man" (netflix) panics and tries to reign him in- I'm not sure what the relationship between Sono and Netflix is, but I will give the streaming app credit for releasing this show, I just wish they stopped giving money to studio execs who want only to keep releasing universally hated "steamy thrillers" or mindless teen dramadies. Everyone enjoys good art, while only the dumbest people enjoy the majority of Netflix's catalogue.

The Forest Of Love: Deep Cut: An extended tv serial version of the film The Forest Of Love. Apparently this makes more sense than the film version but it's still a convoluted story as it flits back and forth between four time periods. Inspired by a real life serial killer this story adds a school production of Romeo and Juliet which has decade long consequences for the schoolgirls involved. Crazy film making within a film which sometimes break the fourth wall and a tinge of Twin Peaks add to the strangeness of this production. Quite disturbing as people are tortured and killed, bodies dismembered. But leavened by a strain of dark humour as it relates the tale of a womanising conman cult leader. Written and directed by Sion Sono (Tag). On Netflix. 7/10.

I recommend it if you liked the movie but not required to watch and I recommend the film over this version. When TFOV came out I watched it straight away and loved it like his other films I didnt enjoy this as much but it was still good with more scenes adding over 2 hours.

I think that the ending for the movie release was just a lot more satisfying. With the length being longer i expected something better from sono on par with love exposure. The ending for love exposure was extremely satisfying after its long runtime I didn't feel the same payoff with this.

Overall I felt like the film version was superior and I didn't mind the faults people had with it in fact I liked a lot of the things others didn't. Basically all of my favorite scenes are still in the original film and the film is just more impactful and gets to the point more directly than this version but If you are a fan you will enjoy both versions and appreciate the extra scenes WATCH BOTH but if one I would pick the film.

If visual cinematography and music are important elements for you to enjoy a work, then you should watch this series version rather than the movie. The stories are kinda the same, but character devolopment is way too observable on the series. I watched the whole season in just a night and I kept asking to myself "What the hell am I watching right now?" over and over again, but I couldn't stop watching it either. Then I understood that this is the reason why it is a good work, it's way too absurd that it is so interesting to watch. A unique work.

This Japanese series is an extended cut of the film 'The Forest of Love'. In the opening scene, set in the '90s, a couple get out of a car, leaving a woman in the back, and find a body in the woods. We return to these people at the start of each episode but for the most part this film isn't about them. Shin has just arrived in Tokyo, where he meets young would-be film makers Jay and Fukami. They tell him how they are planning to make a film featuring criminal behaviour, without breaking the law themselves. When they learn Shin is still a virgin they introduce his to their promiscuous friend Taeko; she rejects him but suggests going to see her reclusive school friend Mitsuko. Later they meet Joe Murata an older man who seems to seduce every woman he meets... they decide to make a film where Shin stars as Joe; in this production they imaging Joe is the serial killer they'd heard about on the news. Intercut with this we see scenes of Taeko and Mitsuko's time at an all-girls school in 1985. Here we learn of a tragedy that led to them the people they are later. Things soon get quite insane.

When I started watching this I knew nothing about it; it was just a Japanese series on Netflix... I had no idea what I was letting myself in for! The series is bizarre in a good way. There are moments of hilarity; often followed by scenes of disturbing violence. The characters are all fairly strange and the story about the making of a film feels like it is directly reflecting what we are watching. I was surprised to learn that this is an extended version of a film that is over two hours shorter as little seems superfluous. At first I was a little unsure about the acting as it often seems over the top but as one continues to watch it becomes clear that this fits the story perfectly.

Overall I'd recommend this to people looking for something very different; be warned it won't be for everybody though.

These comments are based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles.