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Category:
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Movies
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Genre:
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Comedy
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Just came from Japan Foundation's
showing of Japanese contemporary films for 2007. This evening, the first
offering was "Kamikaze Girls" and it was shown in Shangril-la Plaza
at Crossings. They will have more films till Tuesday of next week, but for
those who can't make it, these films will also be shown in CCP and UP Film
Institute.
Lifted off from their brochure:
Format: 2004/HD or 35 mm/ 103 min./Color
Director: Tetsuya Nakashima
Japanese Release: 2004
Synopsis:
Lifted off from their brochure:
Format: 2004/HD or 35 mm/ 103 min./Color
Director: Tetsuya Nakashima
Japanese Release: 2004
Synopsis:
Momoko (Kyoko Fuduka) escapes from
the boredom of her life in her humdrum rural hometown Shimotsuma by swathing
herself from head to toe in doll-like "Lolita" garb. One day she
meets her diametrical opposite on the fashion scale, the surly black lipstick
biker chick Ichigo (Anna Tsuchiya, winner of 2005 Japan Academy price for best
newcomer) who takes a liking to Momoko's unexpectedly gutsy nature and the two
form an unlikely alliance.
Momoko consoles Ichigo after she suffers a broken heart at the hands of the local pompadoured lothario and uses her embroidery skills to embellish Ichigo's biker uniform for the graduation ceremony of a respected senior. In return, she takes Momoko to the best Lolita boutique in the city where her sewing skills gain for her a chance to work for her favorite designer. However, Ichigo's fellow delinquents don't take kindly to her friendship with Momoko, which leads to a final showdown with the gang boss. Severely outnumbered, Ichigo looks doomed until the loyal Momoko rides to her rescue. A mildly surreal, frenetically comic journey into Japan's youth subcultures based on a graphic novel by cult manga creator Novala Takemoto and directed by TV commercial Tetsuya Nakashima.
My review:
Momoko consoles Ichigo after she suffers a broken heart at the hands of the local pompadoured lothario and uses her embroidery skills to embellish Ichigo's biker uniform for the graduation ceremony of a respected senior. In return, she takes Momoko to the best Lolita boutique in the city where her sewing skills gain for her a chance to work for her favorite designer. However, Ichigo's fellow delinquents don't take kindly to her friendship with Momoko, which leads to a final showdown with the gang boss. Severely outnumbered, Ichigo looks doomed until the loyal Momoko rides to her rescue. A mildly surreal, frenetically comic journey into Japan's youth subcultures based on a graphic novel by cult manga creator Novala Takemoto and directed by TV commercial Tetsuya Nakashima.
My review:
After reading the synopsis above, my
idea or impression of what the movie was going to be turned out to be quite
different in reality. I don't know if it was the subtitles misleading me.
However I do know what I like and enjoy, and this film has all the trademarks of what I expect from Japanese comedy films - I would not know the film terms, but there is a section of some anime to explain the story (kinda like the "Kill Bill" movie), there is the section of flying cabbages, head on collision and Momoko floating around (kinda like the "Kung Fu Hustle" movie), talking to the camera directly to explain the situation, exaggerated and ludicrous love scenes etc.
The costumes made my eyes spin..all those laces and frills and curls and blonde hair dyes and biker chick fashion...on an aside, I wonder why in the world Japanese clothing seem so outlandish nowadays..and to think they really had a nice sense of kimono fashion before..oh well *shrug*
But the twist and turns of the story were fun and unexpected, although a bit obvious to an old hand at Filipino dramas like yours truly. Again, the friendship between these two unlikely girls is at once funny and touching. And the scene where Momoko lectures her mom on happiness and not giving up on it makes you think again of how a parent lectures their young..this time its just the younger person doing it...ironic eh?
That pompadoured guy made my eyebrows rise to the heavens...but its something I would expect from a manga drawing. All in all the characters are over the top sometimes, but this is what you can expect from a comedy story like this. There is a good mixture of shots flowing in and out..so its not boring, since the shift from one scene to another used different techniques but I suspect its what made my headache pop out (or it could be the lack of food before watching the movie).
It is a happy ending of course (for awhile though I thought the opening scene of our Rococo-era-loving heroine flying upward into the heavens meant her early demise) - for almost all characters concerned, from her obaa-san (grandma), otou-san (father) and the other main characters (her okaa-san or mom didn't win the beauty contest though, which made her dad really happy..nope, they were already divorced)...all in all not a lot of loose threads to make you unhappy with the plot...some yakuza, yanki, finger-cutting, vomiting ala anime style, pink outlandish bentos and food..
See I've just joined a Japanese club at my current company, and though it was because of love of anime and manga, I'm glad I didn't pass up the opportunity to watch this Japanese film festival.
Personally I would have enjoyed a whole week of Kurosawa-sama's films (think "Ran", "Seven Samurai", "Rashomon" etc.) which I have always loved even before I fell in love with anime. Picture a purring cat...but I just found out that contemporary films are also quite good..quite unexpectedly I must admit.
Other movies coming up this week (I don't know if I can view the others though, I prefer sleep and food):
* Shangri-la (Togenkyo No Hitobito)
* Blue Spring
* Out of this World
* Hotel Hibiscus
* Inochi
* No One's Ark
* The Stars Converge
* Harmful Insect
However I do know what I like and enjoy, and this film has all the trademarks of what I expect from Japanese comedy films - I would not know the film terms, but there is a section of some anime to explain the story (kinda like the "Kill Bill" movie), there is the section of flying cabbages, head on collision and Momoko floating around (kinda like the "Kung Fu Hustle" movie), talking to the camera directly to explain the situation, exaggerated and ludicrous love scenes etc.
The costumes made my eyes spin..all those laces and frills and curls and blonde hair dyes and biker chick fashion...on an aside, I wonder why in the world Japanese clothing seem so outlandish nowadays..and to think they really had a nice sense of kimono fashion before..oh well *shrug*
But the twist and turns of the story were fun and unexpected, although a bit obvious to an old hand at Filipino dramas like yours truly. Again, the friendship between these two unlikely girls is at once funny and touching. And the scene where Momoko lectures her mom on happiness and not giving up on it makes you think again of how a parent lectures their young..this time its just the younger person doing it...ironic eh?
That pompadoured guy made my eyebrows rise to the heavens...but its something I would expect from a manga drawing. All in all the characters are over the top sometimes, but this is what you can expect from a comedy story like this. There is a good mixture of shots flowing in and out..so its not boring, since the shift from one scene to another used different techniques but I suspect its what made my headache pop out (or it could be the lack of food before watching the movie).
It is a happy ending of course (for awhile though I thought the opening scene of our Rococo-era-loving heroine flying upward into the heavens meant her early demise) - for almost all characters concerned, from her obaa-san (grandma), otou-san (father) and the other main characters (her okaa-san or mom didn't win the beauty contest though, which made her dad really happy..nope, they were already divorced)...all in all not a lot of loose threads to make you unhappy with the plot...some yakuza, yanki, finger-cutting, vomiting ala anime style, pink outlandish bentos and food..
See I've just joined a Japanese club at my current company, and though it was because of love of anime and manga, I'm glad I didn't pass up the opportunity to watch this Japanese film festival.
Personally I would have enjoyed a whole week of Kurosawa-sama's films (think "Ran", "Seven Samurai", "Rashomon" etc.) which I have always loved even before I fell in love with anime. Picture a purring cat...but I just found out that contemporary films are also quite good..quite unexpectedly I must admit.
Other movies coming up this week (I don't know if I can view the others though, I prefer sleep and food):
* Shangri-la (Togenkyo No Hitobito)
* Blue Spring
* Out of this World
* Hotel Hibiscus
* Inochi
* No One's Ark
* The Stars Converge
* Harmful Insect
- Jun 21, '07 12:08 AM
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