Kamikaze Girls
Kamikaze Girls
| 29 May 2004 (USA)
Kamikaze Girls Trailers

Momoko is an ordinary girl, living an ordinary life. Ordinary, that is, if you define ordinary as wearing elaborate lolita dresses from the Rococo period in 18th Century France. However, when punk girl and self-styled 'Yanki' Ichiko comes calling, her days as 'ordinary' are most certainly numbered...

Reviews
Bardlerx Strictly average movie
SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped
Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.
Janae Milner Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.
Claudio Carvalho 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
CountZero313 Momoko lives for the designs of the Rococco period, more commonly known as 'the Lolita look' in Japan. Her washed-up chinpira Dad, estranged Mum, and eccentric Gran, added to her fashion sense and inaka existence, make for a lonely, isolated life. And that's just the way she likes it. Unfortunately, change is thrust upon her by the arrival of bike-gang thug Ichigo, brash and violent, and an unlikely friendship is formed.An incongruous female pairing of cutesy twee and ballsy loudmouth has been seen before in 'Nana', but director Testuya Nakashima gives it more verve here. The fast-cutting, schlock violence, and 'big' acting would all gel better in Memories of Matsuko, but their fledgling outing here makes for an amusing, if slightly overlong tale. Anna Tsuchiya is a real talent, displaying a range and maturity here that is the envy of her peers. Nakashima cleverly harnesses that range and ability to an actress who could not be more of a contrast. Fukuda's doe-eyed vacuity signals her limitations, but Nakashima plays to her persona here, letting her do nothing in a role where less is more. Momoko is shallow and thoughtless, and Fukuda nails the role to the floor.The bizarre English title of Kamikaze Girls suggests someone at the international distributors needs a kick up the behind. This is a fun tale of a teenage odd couple sharing a right of passage. It is well written, acted and edited, and entertains for great stretches.
screaminmimi "Shimotsuma Monogatari" is somewhere between "Thelma and Louise" and "Wayne's World," with a bit of the "Odd Couple," "The Wild One" and a very brief Spike Lee quote thrown in. Ostensibly a coming-of-age chick-flick, its appeal for me is mainly as a wicked satire on fashion consumerism, and it does a pretty thorough job of demolishing female stereotypes in broadly comedic, but plausible, ways. In a rather unflattering product placement for two giant Japanese retailers: Jusco (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JUSCO/ ) and Parco (The Wal*Mart and Bloomingdale's of Asia), they're both slammed. The Lolita-look obsessed Momoko calls their customers twisted, but I guess the "I don't care what you say about me, as long as you spell my name right" version of PR is in play here.Sadwo Abe plays a dual role, and it's nice that in at least one of them you can see his face, unlike in his brilliant turn in "Yôkai Daisensô" as Kawatarô, where he's under four hours' worth of turtle-esquire latex. He's a full-body actor, one of those people who could probably steal a scene just using his pinkie toe. In his case, he's a scene stealer with a heart who makes everybody he works with look that much better on-screen. Abe-san is already a full-fledged actor. I look forward to Kyôko Fukada and Anna Tsuchiya becoming as skilled. They're well on the way.I give this movie a 9 for the clichés it succumbs to, although it smashes most of them to bits. I'd tack on a half star for its self-awareness.
Gilles Gravier It's a Japanese movie. You may find the acting a bit caricatural or extreme, but I guess this is due to the history of Noh theater strongly present in Japaneses culture. Past this possible barrier, the movie itself is entertaining. The two main characters are played deliciously by remarkable actresses (again, considering that they are acting in the Japanese style).The movie immerses you into the Gothic Lolita culture, as the heroin is the typical representative of that movement. Lots of insights into the whys and hows of that culture. There is also a fun vision of the Japanese punk subculture, represented by the Yankis.It's a comedy, so you laugh or smile a lot. But the above mentioned aspects also make it a very interesting movie.I'll watch it again. More than a few times.