Kamikaze Girls (2004)

Just when I was about to give up on Japanese cinema ever producing anything good, other than a Techno-Horror, I ran across this gem at the video story.

American audiences may think that Momoko and Ichigo are extreme examples of Japanese girls, when in fact they are actually well developed profiles of 2 of Japan's most prolific subcultures. In Japan the bike riding Yankis are everywhere (and typically the women quit the gangs after getting knocked up, an example of which the actress Anna Tsuchiya followed), and the Momoko (The lolitas, but I always referred girls like her as "Raggedy Anns on crack") like styled girls can be find shops for their clothing all over Shibuya and Harajiku (The "Baby; The Stars Shine Bright" is an actual label, but quite a few of the "Raggedy Anns on crack" make their own clothes just as Momoko did).

To me the Momoko and Ichigo characters were like so many Japanese girls I have met, and the ordeals that they went through were like re-tellings of personal stories I had heard so many times before.

I loved this movie so much I had to buy it just so I will know I will always have it when my own Japanese-American daughter grows up, but this movie is a must see for anyone who wanted to know anything about Japan or wants to see a touching movie about 2 girls who come into their own.

Movies this insightful are rare, and this is the best "coming of age movie" for women I have ever seen in any language.

Fmovies: This movie was so very surreal. That is the only word that I could use to describe it.

The contrasting personalities of the two girls was a nice element. It set up a lot of conflict. The physical humor was what made me laugh the most, and was strongly represented through Ichigo. The surreal, dreamy humor was represented mostly through Momoko.

Many people would find Momoko's fashions absurd, but, in fact, this movie is filled with absurdity, from the hairstyles of some characters to their behavior. It is like anime come alive, with only enough of an emphasis on reality to keep the story grounded.

I loved it, and I am going to watch it again many times.

Momoko Ryugasaki (Kyôko Fukada) is the daughter of a smalltime gangster (Hiroyuki Miyasako) that forges Versace brand and a lowlife woman. Momoko is smitten by the Rococo period and dresses in a Lolita style, with frilly dresses and embroidery bonnet. She is raised by her father since her mother divorced him to marry her gynecologist, and he has taught her how to perfectly embroider.

When Mr. Ryugasaki includes the Universal Studios brand in his products, he is forced to move to the rural Shimotsuma with Momoko to live in the house of her grandmother. Momoko decides to sell her collection of forged Versace and Universal Studios to make money to buy her expensive clothing. The rebel "yanki" Ichigo Shirayuri (Anna Tsuchiya) visits Momoko to buy clothes and soon they begin the most unlikely friendship.

"Shimotsuma monogatari", a.k.a. "Kamikaze Girls" is an absolutely original and surreal movie. The definition of department stores and groups in the Japanese pop culture is awesome. Unfortunately I found this movie too related to the Japanese sub-culture for youths, very different from the Western one, and I did not enjoy as much as I expected. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

Kamikaze Girls fmovies. Wonderful, colourful and amusing tale of two young girls whose personalities clash in the country of culture clashes. Anna Tsuchiya who played the prostitute in Sakuran, here plays a cool and very crazy bike girl from a gang of 'yanki's' and the cutie doll faced, Kyoko Fukada plays the frilly dress wearer, reminiscent of the young girls on the bridge at Harajaku, Tokyo.

This non-stop extravaganza takes in teenage angst, the clash between the traditional and the western styles, the passion for costume, the need or not of friends and so much more. And all in such a bright and infectious manner. A joy for all.

Maybe the one and only movie with a theme about Embroidery, that still can be considered "cool". Kyoko Fukada as cute Lolita-look Aficionado and Anna Tsuchia in a tough Biker-Gang Wardrobe make up a most strange, yet sympathetic pair of friends. Makes you laugh, makes you feel warm, yeah, even nostalgic. "Kamikaze Girls" is the archetypal essence of Manga-Culture come alive, pure J-Pop Fanservice in psychedelic, overbidding videoclip visuals (including one hysterical Anime story sequence), and one of those rare movies, where you don't ever want to see the credits. Also features a great entrance by my favorite Pin-up Idol Eiko Koike.

The story is about a girl who goes to Tokyo to buy her Lolita clothes, and the moped gangster girl she very unwillingly befriends. This movie is funny cute and sexy. Laughed a ton, and then got misty eyed too. A great Thelma and Louise kinda female bonding movie. Haven't seem T&L though, so don't take my word for it. The camerawork and cinematography, wait, the entire storytelling is funky and pop, but it's such a good story. Glad to have caught the last showing. The climax is surreal. But so is everything else. it's a movie driven on fashion, but the plot is knit tightly :) And still I wouldn't care, these two girls are both incredible. Very hot, very hot. A classic for Japanese pop culture conoisseurs. A decent story for all others.