This was part of Film 4's recent 'Extreme Season' and it's easy to see why. Film critic and introducer to the film, Mark Kermode unravelled a whole heap of adjectives in trying to describe its virtues - and I think he only scraped the surface.

Yes, we know by now that it's 4 hours long but with the requisite ad breaks, that bumps it up to five. Thus, the very thought of committing the time and effort to this huge chunk of one's valuable life is far worse than actually watching it. Due to other commitments, I had to undertake watching the recording in 3 manageable pieces, turning each into 'normal' film lengths.

Lurching between high melodrama and lamenting ballad, Love Exposure IS a love story. But the most crazy, beautiful and fantastical one you've ever seen. Typically Japanese in going to extremes, at times modern fairytale and then extreme graphic violence almost at the turn of a hat.

Somehow, strangely all the characters are endearing, especially the two central ones, Yu and Yoko. Yoko must have the sweetest smile I've ever seen, at times enticing, at others crying painfully. If you think though that this is just about emotional roller-coasting, there are some of the most striking story lines and stunts and ideas that have come from a fertile, imaginative and superb director, that mix martial arts with technology, religion with sex, perversion with love and much more.

The choice of music, from Ravel's 'Bolero' to other brilliant rock pieces, that were repeated in loops really added to the structure and my enjoyment and I'm sure they hypnotised us into feeling the film shorter than it actually was. This was one of the best features of the project.

Unlike the film, I'm going to keep my review shortish. Let's just say that the hype is real, the movie is unforgettable and whilst not quite a Citizen Kane, most film lovers with an open mind and an open heart will find much to enjoy.

LOVE EXPOSURE is a film unlike anything else you've ever seen before or since (although Sion Sono's follow-up movies, made as part of his unconnected trilogy, COLD FISH and GUILTY OF ROMANCE, come close at times). It's an incredibly quirky romance story that concerns a love triangle between three messed-up characters. One of them is a sinister cultist, another a loveless girl who hates men, the third a pervert with a fine line in upskirt photography.

All of these elements come together in one epic story that's very well shot and somehow beautiful despite the often crude themes and very graphic elements of the storyline. It's a film that mixes together a critique of Catholicism with religious cults, voyeurism, pornography, mental health, terrorism, family relationships, and even some karate into one hectic mix. At four hours this is a real test of the viewer's ability to take this incessantly crazy storytelling and I confess that I watched it in two settings as I think one would have been just too much for me to take.

The film boasts fully-rounded characters and psychological depth that you don't often get in the world of Japanese cult cinema. It's a throwback to 1970s-era Japanese exploitation with the character of 'Miss Scorpion' straight out of that decade. It's very funny and completely outrageous, delving down some dark and explicit avenues that most filmmakers wouldn't dare to go. The whole thing builds to a real crescendo with a great and uplifting climax. Most of all, it's very entertaining, surprisingly poignant at times, and Sono sustains the interest from beginning to end. A graphic, unashamed, high art story that keeps on delivering.

I must admit that the four-hour run time of this film nearly put me off however I decided to watch it over two nights and ended up really enjoying it. The early parts are hilarious and later on even though it gets more dramatic the laughs continue although things do get more serious towards the end. The film follows Yu, a boy whose father is a Catholic priest who finds and loses love. After the woman his father loves leaves his father becomes obsessed with sin and demands that Yu confesses; the trouble is he has nothing to confess. He decides he must sin so he can confess to please his father; he starts with small sins before becoming 'The Prince of Perverts' when he starts taking photographs up the skirts of unsuspecting women. No woman actually does anything for him though until one day he meets the beautiful Yoko who just happens to be the 'daughter' of the woman his father was seeing. Unfortunately for Yu he was in drag at the time as part of a bet and Yoko thinks she met a woman! When she meets Yu as himself she is unimpressed and thinks he is just another pervert; an opinion that is confirmed when a new classmate shows everybody the evidence of Yu's perversion. This is all in the first half of the film; later on Yu's father, Yoko and her mother are seduced into joining a sinister cult and Yu must do what he can to rescue her.

I was surprised how quickly the time went by while watching this; while the plot was obviously ridiculous it was also very funny. This was helped by the fine performances from Takahiro Nishijima and Hikari Mitsushima as Yu and Yoko who made it all some how believable and made me care about the characters. While this is principally a comedy there are a few scenes of strong bloody violence that may disturb some people; one scene in particular may make male viewers wince and cross their legs in fear! The sexual content is limited to the occasional views of women's undies. I'd certainly recommend this film and if its length puts you off just do what I did and watch it over two nights.