Call Girls

Baunsu Kogals or Bouncing Young Girls is a very good movie about 3 girls, their friendship and their life in the world of prostitution (Kogals, they call them). Sort of a Japanese version of "Kids", but more likely to be taken seriously. It follows the ennui that these girls and their peers/other youth feel in Japan. An important point scored in the film is when Jonko and Raku ask why does Lisa want to go to New York to study, she says she wants to be in NY because when you live in the US, there's is a feeling of a "can-do" attitude that pervades the culture, which would motivate her to be a better student in Japan and also get her independence.

BOUNCE GO-KALS is one of the best drama I've seen out of Japan. It's not a slow-moving Japanese film, but it's just slow enough, and just fast enough (although the movie is well over 2 hours) to keep you interested and at the same time, emotionally invested. A terrific film that exposes Japanese society for its hypocricy, while even delving into the past of the country. But in the end, it's a movie about hope and a future that, although it may look dark, has a silver lining.

For more excellent movies by the director, check out KAMIKAZE TAXI and CHOICE OF HERCULES, two very good dramas from a man with his pulse on what makes Japan so fascinating.

10 out of 10

(Go to http://www.nixflix.com for a more in-depth review of this movie and other foreign films)

a haunting, and sometimes depressing, look at the world of high school call girls in tokyo, japan. the movie follows the lives of 3 high schoolers as they go from john to john, all the while trying to remind themselves that they are doing this for a reason. a terrific movie, filled with unforgettable performances and characters.

This movie about japanese teenage girls high-gals or Ko-gals (prostitutes) is a very good movie. It addresses many of the feelings of ennui youth have in Japanese society, like the feeling that they cannot be treated as individuals in Japanese society (part of the group-think) there. An important part of the movie shows when Lisa is asked, why does she want to go to New York to study? She states that her feeling is in the USA you "can-do" anything you want just as long as you keep trying and that you do your best. It's a feeling that these girls feel that they are trapped to being less than they can achieve in Japan. Overall, a 9 out of 10. Note: that the picture on the video box makes the movie look like a porno movie but it's nothing like that. It could be said that it's similar to Larry Clark's "Kids".

This is, by far, one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. Having been in a Japanese high school for a year, I could relate to some of the characters in this movie. It was perfectly executed -- the camera work, dialogue, etc. The music, as well, was excellent. This movie definitely needs to be on everyone's "must have" list.