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Sion Sono, often regarded as Japanese cinema’s most subversive filmmaker, has made 57 films in a colorful, three decades-long career. On Jan. 31, he premiered his first and only English language feature at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival — the very festival he always dreamed of premiering his first English film in. In “Prisoners of the Ghostland,” the prolific director joined one of the U.S.’s most prolific actors, Nicolas Cage, to create a wild but compelling mash-up of Eastern and Western cinematic influences, with cinematography so beautiful it could justify the film's often unhinged plot.

The film follows Cage as a bank robber sprung from jail by a wealthy warlord known only as “The Governor” (Bill Moseley), who offers freedom in exchange for finding his missing granddaughter Bernice (Sofia Boutella). Strapped into a leather suit that will self-destruct within five days, the prisoner-turned-hero sets off on a journey to find Bernice and his freedom.

“Prisoners of the Ghostland” is a thematic rollercoaster from start to finish, so much so that the two bombs strapped to the hero’s privates as part of his self-destruct suit aren’t even the most shocking thing to happen in the first 15 minutes. A mash-up of Western cowboy and samurai films, “Prisoners of the Ghostland” is as ballsy as it is outlandish, featuring ghosts, samurais, ninjas, and a nuclear apocalypse as just some of its key plot points.

In a film containing countless fantastical references, the aesthetics crafted by Sono and his crew create a beautiful tapestry of surrealism that evokes the traditional iconography of both Eastern and Western cinema. The aptly named Samurai Town, for example, where The Governor and his subjects live, is painted in rich reds and blues and adorned with lanterns whose yellow light washes the set in a warm glow. The everpresent snow falling lightly in all of the town’s scenes gives the impression of a Japanese woodblock print come to life.

Because of its roots in two arguably “macho” film genres, however, “Prisoners of the Ghostland” is unfortunately so steeped in hypermasculinity that its protagonist is too campy to be taken seriously. Complete with a hefty criminal record, deep raspy voice, and a devil-may-care attitude, Cage’s performance is made up solely out of grunts, threats, and an expletive every other word. In his role as the “hero” to the poor damsel in distress, the hero’s outward masculinity is taken to a fever pitch, as he becomes the only one purportedly capable of saving Bernice and the people around her. The few opportunities the hero has to be sincere and introspective fall flat, feeling unnatural and forced for a character who throughout the film shows virtually no emotion or attachment.

Before Sono was a filmmaker, he was a poet, and that background is still evident in “Prisoners of the Ghostland” — even amidst all its absurdity. In between ninja duels and bank robberies, the film is also built on deeper themes of time and exploitation.

The oppression of time, nuclear disaster, and colonialism are all woven into the film and its characters, made evident by Sono’s subtle use of recurring images and motifs. One example is a clock in Ghostland, the industrial wasteland where much of the movie takes place, which is not allowed to strike past 8:14. Though it’s never explicitly mentioned, the decision for that time is intentional. Ghostland was destroyed by a nuclear disaster, and 8:15 was the time that the atomic bomb struck Hiroshima in 1945. The citizens of Ghostland are enslaved by that clock, and Sono’s decision to include it adds a whole other dimension to the East-meets-Western.

While teaching a masterclass at the 3rd International Film Festival and Awards Macao prior to the film’s release, Cage called “Prisoners of the Ghostland” “the wildest movie I've ever made, and that's saying something." Indeed, the film is wild. Though intense, absurd, and crammed with fantastical plot elements, it’s also a stunning film to watch. The aesthetics are stellar, steeped in rich color and perfectly set to the events and mood of each scene, all together creating a film that — while unhinged at times — is a compelling argument for more Sono-led innovations.

— Staff writer Sofia Andrade can be reached at sofia.andrade@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter at @SofiAndrade__.