A genius film director, Tadashi Kobayashi holds an audition for his new film project. Several actors and actresses answer the open call, but most will only be cast as extras. Can the film come to a completion without accident?
Sen Fujimaru Riku Kurokouchi Mala Morgan Tatsuhiro Yamaoka Takahiro Konishi Yuma Ueji Tomoko Nawata Fumina Suzuki Tomoko Fujita Kazumasa Taguchi Taro Suwa Tetsu Watanabe Mitsuru Fukikoshi Shigero Aoki Ami Ito Yuto Endo Karin Ogawa Mado Karasumori Akane Kishida Ryo Gindai Yuki Kitabayashi Michiaki Yasumura Hiroki Komatsu Benio Saeki Riri Sakurai Shibasaki Keisuke Uri Suzuki Koji Seki Koji Takasuka Show All…
The Red Post Box on Escher Street, Esshā-dōri no akai posuto
Theme: Everyone has a part to play in the story of the world
Variation 1: There is no such thing as an extra, because we all have our own stories to tell.
Variation 2: We are all extras in the stories of each others lives.
Variation 3: We are all connected by the world we share, each of our exploits making the fabric of the world's story much richer in the process.
Variation 4: We earn our roles through merit, not status, by the texture of our lives that makes our niche in the world wholly our own.
Variation 5: We must play our roles with excellence, vigor, and grace, for to do otherwise is to waste the purpose that…
Sion Sono has lived many lives behind the camera. After several relentless decades spent churning out softcore pornos, demented J-horror classics, furious confrontations with post-Fukushima Japan, a hyper-violent rap opera about masculine fragility, one of the most unflinching serial killer dramas since “Vengeance Is Mine,” a four-hour epic about upskirt photographers (and death cults), an Amazon miniseries called “Tokyo Vampire Hotel,” and a few dozen other films that defy such easy description, the only thing less surprising than the massive heart attack that struck Sono in February 2019 — and literally killed him for an entire minute — is that it hasn’t slowed him down whatsoever.
Forgive the familiar lede, but some things bear repeating, particularly in the context of…
Countless stories of countless people that pass by in a blink. How many extras do you brush against on your commute, your class, your late-night escapades? Without the extras in your life, the individual threads in your rich tapestry of experience, would your life still be the same?
Red Post on Escher Street is about the dissolution of roles: the concept of the leading role eliminated, stripped down until there becomes no difference between the lead and the side. In understanding this outlook, one can find solace in their life. You may be an extra in this story, one story, but you are just as vital to it as the supposed "lead" and without you there is no story worth…
"What's wrong with being broken?"
Wow, OK. I wasn't expecting this to be about the pandemic and a loss of freedom, expression and visibility. Red Post on Escher Street is also about the filmmaking process; and the passion and spirit behind the scenes from the full cast and crew, down to the extras fighting to get their 15 seconds of fame! You've got to hand it to Sion Sono, who at 58 years old retains his vitality and fresh and modern perspective. I also think he doesn't get enough credit for making and showcasing new stars in the industry. His philosophy of amateurs first, stars last is something I can fully get behind! Ultimately, this is what this film is…
I'm sitting here and my body is shaking.
Dear Sono Sion,
I bow to you, I salute you, I respect you, I am deeply in love with you and your work. It seems like you still can surprise me.
I've got to a point where I don't need anything new from your films to love them. Give me the usual Sono and I'll be more than happy.
And here you are, giving me a film that exceeds my expectations again. What do you expect from me? How should i react? What do you do with me?
What I see is a movie about film making. About all the hard work that goes into it. About the struggle to make your…
Action! - Love, Lust And Violence: Sion Sono's Inland Empire W/ The Night Nutter, Joe Mighty Castillo, The Other Guys.... and Jeff
Our Sion Sono marathon concludes with a film that, in many ways, encompasses all we've seen from the filmmaker so far, at least in terms of his sense of humour. This film, like his immense enthusiasm for filmmaking, feels like a less violent and funnier version of films like Why Don't You Play In Hell? and One Cut Of The Dead, in which we follow a film production from the perspective of everyone involved, always beginning with the (usually intriguing) motive that prompted them to audition and/or produce the film.
On many ways, the success of this picture…
Um, wow, there's a lot to unpack.
At around the first-hour mark I wasn't sure I'd like it. The meandering story, the blatant over-acting, and the strange structure at first really didn't sit with me well. However, as I began to piece together what I was watching. Red Post on Escher Street felt less like a directionless overindulgent film, and more of an ambitious, bold, self-aware, and an incredibly nuanced project that proves to be one of my favorite films of the year. This is my first Sion Sono movie and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't completely amazed by my introduction into his filmography. The narrative flows from character to character with an ease I really wouldn't…
Everyone wants to be an actor! Ghost. Focusing on the extras. Traumatized. The director's club of obsessive fans. The true love club. A family trying their best. Strong women. These are Sion Sono archetypes stuck in the real world, the film system. Everyone is desperate to be heroes or heroines. We want to capture everything we want on this tool called a camera, but will the system allow us to? We have no clear endgame here, but who cares? Sion Sono's Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood, with an ending that doesn't descend into a fairy tale, but rather one that descends into a frank; punk attitude. A perfect portrait of his world embedded in realism. Let's flip the bird and shoot a film.
"If we liken a movie to a hamburger, extras are neither cheese or meat. We're more like the onions. Without them, something is missing."
After making so many movies, and acquiring a lot of experience in the process, Sono has reached the point where he is more interested in pointing the camera at himself to show us his craft. This is obviously not the first time he ventures into the world of filmmaking, as he already explored it in Why Don't You Play In Hell!?, Antiporno and The Forest Of Love, and while Red Post On Escher Street might look like a companion piece to those titles, at least thematically, the approach is very different. If in Why Don't You…
Red Post on Escher Street. 2020. Directed by Sion Sono.
Some films about film making are simply that. Other films with the theme of the film making process have deeper meaning. Red Post on Escher Street (2020) is an excellent example of the profound process of film making and the profound responsibilities of being sentient beings. Each sentient being has many roles in their lives and are quite good at them. They may not be on the big screen but, they are alive and if they have a family, pets, friends, and have experienced grief, loss, and/or tragedy they are more than just extras. They are stars in a child’s life etc.
Tadashi Kobayashi (Tatsushiro Yamaoka) is a director who…
He's fucking back! Easily one of the top 3 Sono!
Right when we were beginning to doubt we would ever see him return. When it looked like he was losing his touch; he drops this masterpiece!
That whole film was just a giant expression of frustration with the studio system and his cult icon status. It expressed a desire to return to filming movies like he used to; independently and without constraints. Wanting to leave a legacy his family can be proud of. It was hype. Compelling af.
