Linda Linda Linda

Those few people who commented this movie is 'boring' are missing the point entirely. Perhaps it is a matter of taste, what you are looking for in a movie. If you are looking for those quick pick-me-up rock'n roll flicks, with heroes/heroines get the girl/boy and fat recording contracts after performing jaw-dropping numbers, overcoming incredible odds, then perhaps this movie is not for you.

But pick you up in a bigger and more satisfying way this movie does. This movie is realistic in that it does not need artificial plot devices and major suspension of belief on the part of the audience. It just shows what ordinary teenage high school girls trying to put together a rock band in a few days for a festival would do in those precious few days of their lives. This is perhaps the last significant thing they will do before they head out to the real world (and maybe college).

Kudos to the director who sets the right pace for the scenes. In my opinion, Japanese movies in general have slower pace than necessary, but for this movie it was the right one and gives the audience the feeling that they really spent those few days with them. It is time well invested and gives the viewer a big payoff.

Of course Bae Doona absolutely steals all the scenes she is in. Not only she is an amazing talent, but these roles come naturally to her since she cut her tooth in a highly-acclaimed high school TV drama before taking on motion pictures. Look for her in the forthcoming 'The Host (2006)'(Korean title 'Gwoemul').

All in all, a very satisfying movie. And I just had to buy the Blue Hearts CDs. The songs just would not leave my head!

Having just had a week filled with watching two Shakespearean tragedies, I was ready to be uplifted and found the perfect answer in Nobuhiro Yamashita's Linda Linda Linda. It is not only a feel-good movie, it is a feel-great movie that had the audience dancing in the aisles (figuratively, if not literally). Yamashita has managed to put together not only one of the best rock films but also one of the most truly honest films I have seen about what life is like for teenagers. It also has a very infectious song, Linda Linda Linda, arranged by former Smashing Pumpkin James Iha that will roll around forever inside your brain. The songs are not lip-synced but are actually performed by the talented actress musicians.

The plot is simple and can be summarized in a paragraph or two but the strength of the film is not in its story but in its quirky humor, natural conversations, great music, and the small moments that convey the roller coaster existence of high school life. Four girls attending Shibazaki High School in Japan want to compete at the annual Holly Rock Festival but things are not going their way. With less than three days before the competition, Moe (Shione Yukawa), the lead guitarist, has just broken two fingers in an accident and is unable to play. Two members, Kei (Yu Kashii) and Rinko (Takaya Mimura) have had a falling out over Rinko's attempt to recruit a boy to play in the bandand are not on speaking terms.

A patchwork solution is proposed where Kei decides to be the guitarist while Kyoko (Aki Maeda) moves to drums and Nozomi (Shiori Sekine) plays the bass. All that is left is to find a singer and a song, no small task. With days left to prepare, the girls agree to choose the first person who walks in the corridor in front of them. Since the first person was a boy, they decide to pass. They also pass on Rinko, a vocalist they used in a former band.

Since Rinko doesn't want to sing the song they've chosen, they pick the next girl walking by, a Korean exchange student named Son (Bae Du-na) who agrees to sing but without much knowledge of Japanese, rehearsals are a struggle to communicate. Calling themselves the Paran Maum, the girls have to sneak around the school and rehearse at night, often falling asleep on the floor. The pace of the film is slow and the girls face challenges but they are real life events, not "movie" problems. Kyoko is attracted to Kazuya (Katsuya Kobayashi) but needs to find the confidence to let him know. Kei must learn to work within the confines of a group and give up some control and Son has to become comfortable enough with the language to perform.

While the story may sound like a teenage soap opera, Linda Linda Linda stays away from cliché and the film is without contrived plot twists or dramatic confrontations with parents (who are mostly non-existent in the film). Along the way, however, there are some very endearing moments. One is Son's attempt to enter a karaoke club without buying a drink and her back and forth conversation with the attendant borders on the painfully hilarious.

Another great scene is when a young boy tries to communicate in broken Korean to Son that he loves her but there is more than a language barrier. The acting in Linda Linda Linda is uniformly excellent, especially the performance of Bae Du-na who moves from being shy and inarticulate to front and center stage and sweeps you away with her great smile. The ending of the film is so perfect that I dare not give it away except to say that the feeling the film leaves you with is one of pure and simple joy.

In most films, directors try (with varying degrees of success and failure) to capture various feelings and emotions set in times and places that will connect with the viewer. When the director fails to catch the vibe emanating from the source material the film falls apart. But every once in awhile a director gets the material and turns out a product that seamlessly captures a slice of life. The latter better describes Nobuhiro Yamashita's Linda Linda Linda, a beautifully constructed study of young love, high school politics, and of course, rock and roll.

In preparation of a High School Festival due in three days, band leader Kei (Yu Kashii) forms a group to cover the works of a J-Punk band named The Blue Hearts for the festival. She quickly finds a drummer, Kyoko (Aki Maede), and a bassist, Nozomi (Shiori Sekine). After some difficulty, the group finds itself their singer; a Korean exchange student named Son (Donna Bae), who only has a basic knowledge of Japanese. The group prepares tirelessly for the coming event... but will they be ready in time?

OK, (I want to get this out of the way) I have one major gripe about Linda... To be honest, the first thirty minutes are paced so slow that it borders on tedium. Some scenes (in the beginning) are totally unnecessary to the plot and could have been edited better to provide the film with a better flow. Though after that, the film magically changes itself into a beautifully endearing coming of age drama complete with cute Japanese schoolgirls and blazing punk rock.

After the clumsy beginning, Linda Linda Linda does one thing that few films can boast. It does an exquisite job of capturing the awkwardness of youth, the purity of blossoming friendships, and the universal love of music. As the film progressed, I was constantly reminded of simpler times in my life. A time when friends were closer than they ever were (after which life puts you through the ringer). A time when every experience was fresh and new and exciting... basically it reminded me of how it was to be young. This is no small accomplishment and is the film's strongest point, as well (I believe) as Nobuhiro Yamashita's primary goal in making Lind Linda Linda.

Other than the emotional aspect of the film, Linda also features brilliant cinematography and a great score. Much of the camera-work seemed to be aimed at casting a "Abbey Road" effect, as many of the film's shots could be easily mistaken for album cover artwork. Add James Iha's (Smashing Pumpkins) melodic rock soundtrack and covers of the J-Punk band The Blue Hearts, and you get some moments of intense allure (i.e. what I like to call, "mind candy").

And we can't forget the actresses. Everyone holds their own here, playing their roles expertly and acting how you'd expect teenage girls to act, the standout being Donna Bae as Son. Her wide eyed, naive Son clinches the film and puts it into the level of greatness. She plays the kind of girl that you'd want to befriend, both subdued and full of life at the same time.

Bottom Line-This is a beautiful film that encapsulates all the emotions of youth. A bit boring and unfocused at the start but the rest of the film more than makes up for it.

I saw this film at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival. Named for a song by legendary Japanese "punks" The Blue Hearts, this film tells the story of four girls who form a band for an end-of-year high school festival. They decide to play covers by The Blue Hearts, and although the film only covers a few frantic days of practice, the pace is sometimes glacial. I'm not sure that this is a bad thing, though it felt like the film wanted to go in two directions. On the one hand, it was a typically sentimental Japanese film about the passing of youth, and the director gives us a few shots of each of the girls smiling wistfully while gazing off in the distance. On the other hand, it's a film about a thrown-together-for-the-hell-of-it cover band, and it could have used a bit more of that kinetic attitude. That being said, it was hugely enjoyable (though probably a good 15 minutes too long), and Bae Doo Na, who plays the gawky Korean exchange student, literally steals the film. Her transformation from gawky outsider to sassy singer, though unrealistically quick, is endearing. And only in a Japanese film would someone get to sing the lyrics, "Like a rat, I want to be beautiful" and make it sound heartfelt.

Although not quite on the same level as another coming of age Japanese teen musical Swing Girls (2004), Linda Linda Linda still has that kooky charm and punk rock vibe that makes it worthwhile checking it out.

Nothing major happens, no big love drama or major fall outs in this film or bullies trying to stop them, and that's refreshing to say the least. For me this probably has the beautiful Bae Doona;s best performance to date (I might slightly give the nod to A Girl At My Door but this film runs it close). She steals the film, as the kooky exchange Korean student turn front woman, to think she was 26 at the time of this film and a bit older then the other three female leads but she makes you believe she's a teenage girl.

The other three members of the band are very good, especially Aki Maeda (Battle Royale) as the drummer. But none come close to topping Bae Doona. The ending has a bittersweet feel to it, as some else mentioned in their review that it's the last significant thing that they probably do. With shots of empty corridors and grounds of the school, it's kind of eerie in a strange way. Also big up the music of the Blue Hearts, you end up humming Linda, Linda for weeks after hearing it.

I did have some problems with it. I did have some trouble with the pacing and I felt a few scenes could have been trimmed to make a tighter film. But overall it's nit picking as this film has it's heart in the right place, plus Bae Doona stealing the show. Well worth checking out.