Guilty of Romance (Koi no Tsumi)

2011
Dir. Sion Sono,
With Miki Mizuno, Makoto Togashi, and Megumi Kagurazaka
35mm, 144 min

Sion Sono's newest film, “Guilty of Romance,” was the first of his work to premiere at Cannes. Reportedly Sono called this film the final in his "Hate" trilogy that began with “Suicide Club” and was followed up by “Noriko's Dinner Table.” Profiling three women and their struggle with their love, relationships, and sexual urges, “Guilty of Romance” explores shame and desire in contemporary Japan.  As is common in Sono's oeuvre, sex and violence go hand in hand, and an investigation of gruesome murders is intertwined with one woman's descent into the world of prostitution.