The setting is simultaneously breathtaking and heartbreaking.

| Jul 19, 2018

Himizu is still not an easy film to like, but the topicality of its message about national pain and rebuilding could attract some offshore sales following its Venice and Toronto debuts.

| Jul 19, 2018

[Mr. Sono] gives the film a harrowing cacophony and a sense of trauma with sound effects, including subtle echoes.

| Mar 13, 2014

Refreshing yet thoroughly unpleasant ...

| Mar 11, 2014

Sion Sono's film is a vision of coming of age as trial by fire, a thunderous encapsulation of that period of transition in which adolescents try to discover themselves: their passions, their purpose, their sense of morality.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Mar 11, 2014

Sono retains his go-for-the-throat approach, but the violence here somehow connects with the brutal economic conditions, and he fosters very tender, affecting performances from Shta Sometani and Fumi Nikaid as his crushed young lovers.

| Original Score: 4/5 | May 31, 2012

A near-masterpiece from one of the most significant directors working today, Himizu combines all the director's strengths while introducing a tentative humanism that proves remarkably affecting.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | May 31, 2012

Over-the-top but blackly funny along the way.

| Original Score: 3/5 | May 28, 2012

Much of the film's impact stems from a pair of remarkable lead performances.

| Original Score: 3/5 | May 16, 2012