Last night I watched Kamikaze Girls, a movie based on a light novel about two girl friends, Ichigo and Momoko—one who belongs to a motorcycle gang, and one whose mind is in the Versailles-era Rococo-style gutter. It's a couple years old and has been around the film festival circuit quite a bit, but this was actually my first viewing, and here are my first impressions:
- Model Anna Tsuchiya makes a pretty good yanki.
- I have never worn lace before, but Kyoko Fukada looks good in it, and by the end of the movie I understood her taste in frills and florals.
- Director Tetsuya Nakashima has really fun, quirky storytelling skills. I enjoyed the sequence of events and the scenes-within-scenes.
- There's a cool anime sequence in the middle of the movie. Nakashima explains why he did this part in anime:
The legend of Himiko which is to be told by Ichigo, is not something that Momoko takes serious. So I decided to deliver it in a style of gag cartoon, as a metaphor of the fact Momoko is mocking it as a stupid story.
So creative!
- The grandma who reverted back to a candy-loving baby as a senior after a life has a gangster is a hilarious addition to the film. In fact, most of the side characters are worth taking a closer look at cuz they're all kinda funny.
- This movie is serious eye candy, but it's also a cool introspective look at two teenagers who don't fit in, and who don't care.
Both actresses won a bunch of awards for their performance in this movie.
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yeah, I liked this too. Thanks for your Nana recommendation, I just watched it from Netflix and really liked it. Going to go for Nana 2 next although the reviews were not great. Waiting for Honey & Clover based on the DVD Previews.
Have you seen Linda Linda Linda, it's a lot of fun.
Posted by: Vic | July 25, 2008 at 01:12 PM
I love love love this movie.
My ex girlfriend Shiho screened me this film and it absolutely nailed the 'two opposite people become friends' shtick without being too saccharine or cheesy.
I even learned a little about lolitas after seeing it!
Posted by: kappuru | July 26, 2008 at 12:42 AM
This maybe my favorite movie ever. A lot of the time I might watch a movie once or twice, but this has taken many repeat viewings and I still love it as much as watching it for the first time.
Posted by: Brand | July 26, 2008 at 07:01 AM