Prisoners of the Ghostland

Don't expect a normal action movie!
If you're open to something alternative, it's an intriguing watch.
It's artistic.. like "The fifth element", has a bit of "Escape from New York" and "Kill Bill"
Set in a post nuclear japanese dreamworld with Western style elements.

Visuals and the score are very good, much details to see on the screen.
The story didn't really keep me interested, it's a ride..
You just have to switch into a different kind of mode to enjoy what's on display.

To enjoy this film you have to buy into its weirdness. I did and had a good time with it, despite the bonkers plot. Cage is great here bringing his usual brand of cool and he is clearly having a good time in the role.

It's a great allegory. One that is a wasted opportunity. I wish I could change couple of things in the script.

total mindfuck action with mr.cage loved it even tho it was boring at times. anyway it was a pleasure to watch nicolas

I'd call this not a movie, but rather a fever dream starring Nicholas Cage.

Sono Sion and Nicolas Cage, I was so waiting for this one... but it's a big disappointment.

What is good: the visuals. The first scene is so Sono Sion, too bad the rest is not at the same level. Anyway the japanese town decor is great, and the ghostland town, and all the costumes there too. It looks great, there's no denying that.

The governor's character is really good too. A sharp contrast with the hero that is totally bland.

And it starts well too. The introduction of the hero, the costume that might blow his balls off, and the leaving for his mission on a bicycle instead of the car he's given.

Aaaaaaand, that's it. After that, nothing much is worth watching. Well except actually having [spoiler]one of his balls blown, without touching the other[/spoiler]!

His mission is to go to this mysterious ghostland to find a girl. But he just gets there, and here she is, doesn't even have to look for her. Not exactly sure what the people there are. Rebels ? Criminals ? Society rejects ? They're forcefully stopping a clock, that seems to be the main activity.

There seem to be issues with the so called ghosts, but it's not exactly clear what the issue is supposed to be as the hero just meets with them, is like "be cool guys" and they're like "sure", and that's it.

So part from the reveal (not that it was not obvious before) that [spoiler]the governor is the bad guy here[/spoiler], it feels like the whole main part of the movie is missing. There is no real action, nothing significant happening. The whole ghostland part, between the intro and the final fight, is basically empty.

Not clear either what the world is. Whether the japanese town or the ghost land. Are they an artificial world/virtual reality, a mind prison or something ? Or a metaphor for something else ? The world looks more normal in the bank robbery flashback, you kinda expect to come back to that, but no, never any mention.

There are some fights, not that interesting, and they mostly focus on Yasujiro, the governor's bodyguard. Strangely it's never clear who/why he's fighting. In the beginning he seem to protect the hero from the mob around (though why would they attack him in front of the governor giving him a mission ? Made no sense). But in the ending, as he is clearly fighting the hero, he's still protecting him from the other guys that attack him, exactly like in the beginning. Makes even less sense.

There is probably some meaning behind all that, and not that hard to find, but the story and action were boring enough that I didn't manage to pay attention.

Sono's visuals were incredible as usual. unfortunatley their is only so much he could do to hide the fact that the story is complete shit.

I liked it, the story is strange as hell and jumps all over the place. But, visually it’s a beautiful film set. The detail of Ghostland and props are amazing. The town is beautiful at night and all the Japanese color alone is worth it for the watch if you can look past the unusual storyline. Bonsai!

If you want something non-traditional with too many themes to count, colourful performances and cinematography as bizarre as Alejandro Jodorowsky's The Holy Mountain... then look no further than this nut busting freak show!

The hardest part of this film to stomach is continuity. There are a lot of strange cuts which lead to head scratching uncertainty. Coming in close second is the story which is almost complete nonsense. Although I could be alienated by some of the significant visuals as I am a cultural amoeba.

[Sitges FF] The script not written by Sion Sono, however, leaves the director free to introduce his own universe, but makes his film less personal. Taking the iconography of western and samurai cinema combined, the Sono-Cage union works worse than expected, less flamboyant and more domesticated than we would have liked. There is a constant creativity, but one that is less cohesive than in his previous films.