This is one of the most interesting Japanese movies I've ever watched, a TV film that cannot be reviewed completely or shoved into any drawer. This is a kind of film that whenever I watch it, I just wonder how? Why is this stuff not well known?
I had revisited Yoichi Takabayashi's Gaki zoshi (1973), Tatsumi Kumashiro's Evening Primrose (1974), Kenji Yoshida's Oh Seagull, Have You Seen the Sparkling Ocean? An Encounter (1975), Kohei Oguri's For Kayako (1984), Kazuo Kuroki's Lost Love (1978) and the climax of Welsh cult classic Twin Town (1997). Legendary Japanese Director Shoichiro Sasaki's Dream Island Girl (1974) was next, i finished movie and looked it up on IMDB to see zero review for this obscure unsung masterpiece.
Now, I think maybe 'Dream Island girl' is a really funny name. There are chances that many will ignore this assuming the title to be a coming-of-age story about a teenager. Maybe, few will skip this for the bad hand drawn poster that's available online. Nevertheless, all your assumptions about this gem will be proven wrong as it starts and ends with Johann Pachelbel's Canon. It will leave you with a bittersweet feeling with a visual quality beyond doubt, you might see a little bit of yourself in the film too.
Sasaki develops a non linear script surrounding it with themes of identity, dreams, urbanisation, hope, liberation, and transcendence with powerful and poetic images. The beginning and that ending, which takes the girl to the place she is comfortable, can be lost and found, the reality she belongs to and the music she loves. However, it is not necessary to find an explanation to be invested, you can feel that the characters are lost soul in the modern world, searching for answers, while questioning the existence. It does unfold symphonically, like waves but does leave you with many questions. I don't mean that the film polarizes, either you like it or you dislike it. I'm sure you will stand in the middle as the film doesn't lack of synthesis, nor takes the self indulgent path to cover too much and ends up saying nothing. Give this a watch atleast once, it will be worth your time.
