| All About Japanese Youth |
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| written by talltale |
February 22, 2005 - 7:14 PM PST |
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2 out of 2 members found this review helpful
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| Rape, muggings, murder, shoplifting, prostitution and other horrors of high school in Japan--much of this set to the lovely strains of Debussy--fill up the strange, sad ALL ABOUT LILY CHOU-CHOU. Combining the messages from an e-mail chat room dedicated to and for the fans of Lily (a famous pop singer) with the friendships among these kids that warm and cool as they grow, the movie captures the fractured lives of teenagers about as well as any I've seen--but with a distinctly Japanese cultural overlay. Beautifully shot (on video, I imagine), this is an atmospheric, long (nearly 2-1/2 hours) look at the boredom, societal strictures, school cliques and family dysfunction that these students face. While other filmmakers have covered similar terrain (Ming-liang Tsai, Hsiao-hsien Hou among them), this movie is certainly equals theirs and, for my money, accomplishes as much or more in a style that is fascinating, elliptical and beautiful--which makes the sadness and emptiness at its core all the more painful and strange. |
| Sound of music |
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| written by praxis |
January 24, 2004 - 6:39 PM PST |
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7 out of 10 members found this review helpful
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| This is the first Iwai film I've seen, and the elements that really stood out where to music. It always seemed appropriate. It made me feel like I was back in high school, when every major event that shaped me had a soundtrack associated with it. Visually it was also a strong and striking film. The dialogue "in film" was nothing to write home about, but the short expressions in cyberspace were both meaningless and meaningful in that adolescent sort of way. Certainly recommended. |
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