'Cold Fish' & 'Guilty Of Romance' Director Sion Sono Making Japanese Earthquake/Tsunami Pic 'The Land Of Hope'

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by Kevin Jagernauth
January 20, 2012 2:42 PM
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Is seems Sion Sono isn't done with last March's devastating earthquake in Japan just yet. Perhaps best known to genre fans stateside for his thriller "Cold Fish" or the epically bonkers "Love Exposure," last year Sono went to Venice with "Himizu" his tale centered on the danger zone following the Japanese earthquake. And with cameras now rolling on this next film, he hasn't left that event behind.

Titled "The Land Of Hope" ("Kibo no kuni"), the film is once again set in the Tohoku region, and while exact plot details haven't been revealed, Sono did tell press, "The story depicts the bonds between husband and wife, between parent and child and between lovers." But Sono generally has a few cards up his sleeve. "Hizimu," which we sort of liked, we also found to be nearly unwatchable, thanks to the films wildly uneven tone that went from grim drama to slapstick comedy on a dime. But that sense of wild unpredictability is a somewhat of a trademark for Sono, even when dealing with a subject such as this, so we'll be both wary and curious.

Shooting on the film will wrap in early February, and since Sono works ridiculously fast, we wouldn't be surprised to see it crop up at festivals in the fall. No distributor or release date has been set. [Variety]

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