Kamikaze Girls (2004)

Excellent, smart action film.

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

This is one of the greatest silly movie I've ever seen. It's dumb and not dumb at the same time. Actually it's done quite well. The story is impossible to explain. It's about a girl Momoko Ryugasaki who's into Lolita fashion. She has unending collection of Baby (that's a brand name) fashion, and lives a decadent life style as a teenager. The story makes no sense at all to a westerner but is a spot on portrayal of Japanese subculture.You need to see this movie to understand the movie and the culture that spawned it into existence.One of the best movie to come from Japan, it's a must see if you're an Asian culture affectionado.BTW aho means "dumb" in Japanese.

I found out about this movie in a Finnish Lolita forum. I've always been interested in the Lolita style and everything related to Japan, so I asked this movie for a Christmas gift and I got it. I had to watch it on my computer, because it didn't work on DVD for some reason. But that didn't matter, at least I was able to watch it.Shomotsuma Monogatari, which translates to "Shimotsuma fairytale", was a cute story about a friendship of two completely different 17-year-olds. I never watched Japanese non-Anime movies before now, but my mum has seen a couple of Japanese horror comedies. She thought they were funny, so she decided to watch Shomotsuma Monogatari with me. Comedy is definitely NOT my favorite genre of a movie, but sometimes I just have to take a chance and watch something else than horror.Some parts of that movie were so funny that they made me laugh. Momoko (Kyoko Fukada) was so cute. I loved all the outfits she wore and wish they could be mine. After watching this movie, I've highly wanted to be a Lolita, but I have no money and I don't even get anything Lolita-like at this state. Anna Tsuchiya is beautiful too, but not in the role of Ichigo. She wore terrible crap I wouldn't wear in public even through you paid me for it! But this movie was good. Not the best in the world, but good. My mum thought it was boring, so she fell asleep while watching it! If she had watched the full movie she wouldn't think it was boring. It was really funny! I highly recommend this movie for all the fans of comedy movies.

Nakashima Tetsuya's wonderful "Shimotsuma Monogatari" (Shimotsuma Story) is quite a unique and charming film. I had my doubts at first but the film turned out to be a refreshing surprise. Mixing anime, quirky narrative, inventive storytelling, outrageous comedy and Japanese Pop Culture charm this movie is a really endearing movie.Stylistically, as others have noted, it does recall movies like "Trainspotting" and "Run, Lola, Run" but I think "Shimotsuma Monogatari" is much closer in style to Yaguchi Shinobu's "Swing Girls" and "Waterboys", both of which are also really wonderful.J-Pop singer/actress Fukuda Kyoko is infectiously cute as Momoko, the "Lolita" fashion obsessed girl with a naive yet surprising take on life. Her French 17th Century (Rocco) styled fashions are at times oddball and avant-garde and yet surprisingly cool looking that it's little wonder why American Pop Singer Gwen Stefani has drawn inspiration from this fashion trend for her L.A.M.B. fashion line and to dress her Harajuku Girls.Anna Tsuchiya is also a wonderful surprise as Ichiko/Ichigo, the tough talking "Yanki" Sukeban with a heart of gold. She has most of the best lines in the movie and is also quite a cutie (behind the Sukeban makeup).The only criticism I have for the film is the stupid American title "Kamikaze Girls". It really doesn't do justice to the film at all and is a real turnoff as it brings to mind a "Yakuza" film or perhaps a war picture in a stereotyping tongue-and-cheek way. Why not just call it simply "Momoko and Ichigo" (i.e. Peaches and Strawberry) or some other title that is a bit more relevant.Other than that this film is a pure joy and delight and a welcomed change to Japanese cinema.

This a well-done girls' coming-of-age tale, like a Japanese 21st-century Alice in Wonderland - one Lewis Carroll would probably have liked. And I presume whoever gave the Kamikaze Girls title to the American edition would have titled the Alice work Kamikaze Alice. The underlying themes are independent thinking, the value of friendship, and the need to pursue one's creative impulses while critically evaluating surrounding people and opportunities.Most the adult figures in the film are - in one way or another - failures. Though seen in an exaggerated, humorous, or empathetic light, they serve as guideposts to the two girls who come to realize that salvation (or "sallvation" as Ichigo misspells it for emphasis) lies not in following the crowd, not in seeking leaders' approval, but in following one's own dreams - as much as they can be realized in this limited, 3-dimensional, mortal world.Early in the film, I feared it was headed to be too sweet, especially with the main characters being Momoko (Peaches) and Ichigo (Strawberries). But this sweetness is quickly counterbalanced with the challenges and adventures they face.This is a fun and very unique film, good for people of all ages. In ways, it's set in a society that seems closer to the U.S. of the 1950's - around the "beat" and the James Dean eras, when youth could be wild without police being called, and yet neighborhoods could leave front doors unlocked without fear and kids could even hitch-hike - an age of greater homogeneity when America had some cultural unity and - with exception of its black-white scar - was not afraid of itself.I obtained this film, by the way, in VCD format (not the best, but adequate), I believe, from HKFlix. I couldn't find it anywhere in DVD format.