The Rococo and the Punk

Tetsuya Nakashima's Shimotsuma Monogatari (known here by the god-awful title Kamikaze Girls) completely caught Filmbrain by surprise, and much like Survive Style 5+, it's a highly stylized film that is much more than mere eye candy. A new twist on the buddy-picture, the film tells of the unlikely friendship that develops between two teenage girls, both social outsiders, and who both happen to be stuck in the sleepy Japanese village of Shimotsuma. Momoko (Kyoko Fukada) is obsessed with the delicate frivolity of the Rococo era, and decked out in doll-like Lolita wardrobe (bought at Baby, The Stars Shine Bright) she dedicates herself to a life of grace, beauty, and pleasure -- "It's not wrong to feel good" is her credo. Ichiko (Anna Tsuchiya), is her polar opposite - a member of the Ponytails biker gang, she spits and scowls with a yakuza swagger, dresses in two-tone, and with her mullet, black eye shadow and lipstick she could easily pass for a lost member of The Runaways. The two meet when, in an effort to raise money for her fashion needs, Momoko turns to selling cheap Versace knockoffs that her failed gangster father produced. Though they barely get on (Momoko is at the receiving end of a few of Ichiko's head-butts), they are simultaneously fascinated and disgusted with each other, and the two begin spending more and more time together. With just a hint of a plot, the film follows the developing relationship of this mismatched duo, and its success is due to the wonderful pairing of Fukada and Tsuchiya -- two young actresses who have a classic sense of comedic timing, and who play off each other in a way that many other buddy-film duos don't. The Japan of Shimotsuma Monogatari is purely a girrrrls world - one where men are practically non-existent, and those that do appear are either useless testosterone-pumped dolts or twee fashion designers. In fact, Ichiko is the most macho character in the film, and her performance is modeled on the countless low-ranking Yakuza characters found in the films of Fukusaku, Kitano, Miike, etc. (Her naturally husky voice suits the role perfectly.) Like Survive Style 5+'s Gen Sekiguchi, Nakashima also began his career in advertising, and he uses that to great advantage here with a series of back-story vignettes for the two girls that play out like self-contained short films. Though the Guy Ritchie influence is unmistakable, Nakashima brings plenty of his own vision to the film, and his screenplay is easily one of the funniest of the year. In a society where conformity is the norm, it's nice to see a lighthearted approach to the problems of individuality and "fitting in" -- imagine All About Lily Chou-Chou, but without the angst, violence, rape, and teenage prostitution. Still, the film is quite universal in its approach to the frustrations and limitations of life far from a big city. Take away the giant statue of the Ushiku Buddha that looms over Shimotsuma, and it could easily be set in a small town near you. Shimotsuma Monogatari is a rare thing -- a teenage comedy that is intelligent, skillfully crafted, and which almost sustains itself until the final reel (where, admittedly, it does get a bit silly). The good news is that the film has found a distributor, and will be released in NYC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle in the Fall. Don't miss it!

Comments

[adam]

This was my favorite film that I saw at Udine this year. I'm happy to hear it got a distributor that will actually release it, although in limited markets.