Wonderful Paradise

In this demented spin on the “unwanted guest” scenario from iconoclast Masashi Yamamoto, the debt-ridden Sasayas must move out of their suburban Tokyo house. In the midst of packing, the family’s rebellious daughter posts an open invitation online: “Let’s have a party!” Soon, guest after guest pours in: from estranged relatives, to jilted lovers; from drug dealers and yakuza to supernatural delights of the kaiju variety..._x000D_

With the unflinching logic of an ever-escalating matsuri, Yamamoto offers a demented spin on Teorema that pinballs until all notions of cinematic realism and common sense are well thrown out the window. Here, he casts his eye on the upper middle classes yet continues to build a version of his onscreen punk utopia (as begun in Robinson’s Garden, What’s Up Connection and the earlier, nihilistic Carnival in the Night): finding the fault lines in yet another set of zany characters that allow for the upending of Japanese propriety and decorum by way of an unexpected, joyful cinematic mayhem.