Stratosphere Girl

To fully get this movie, it helps to know how it was conceived. Director/writer M.X.O was sitting on a plane when a gorgeous blonde took the seat next to him. She had a black eye. Eventually she told him her story which loosely served as the plot of Stratosphere Girl. At the same time he had been working on a different idea about an artist who tells & experiences a story through drawing.

The point is that this film is two distinctly different ideas melded into one excellent & artistic film. On the surface it's a straightforward story (the tale of the blonde with a black eye), but within that story--as well as surrounding that story--is the story of an artist simultaneously creating & experiencing a fantasy. The mixture of these two approaches was brilliantly executed with stylish, slightly disorienting visuals which convey the feeling of detachment and exclusion that the heroine feels. The mood is cold & sterile, vividly recreating a feeling you may recognize if you've ever been alone in a foreign country. So much of this film rests on feelings like that, moods & experiences that may resonate within you. It creates a very memorable atmosphere like in a Wim Wenders film or maybe even the movie "The Usual Suspects" (note: I'm talking about mood, not plot!).

The story takes a very slick twist toward the end which gives us a lot to munch on. It's not an overt M.Night Shyamalan gimmick but rather a clever & subtle detour that'll keep you thinking for hours afterward. I was very pleasantly surprised by this obscure gem, and I'll be keeping an eye out for this director's works in the future.

To me, the Stratosphere Girl is the perfect balance between suspense, love story and comic. And the the pictures! Every little scene has been carefully built to reach maximum optical effect. There are so many details to discover that seeing the movie once is not enough. I love this film! There, that is as simple as I can make it out. I am not going into any details about the plot or what takes place in the film, just want to say that this is the real deal. The film manages to carry a thin story with almost no plot whatsoever and be consistently interesting and entertaining throughout. On top of that it is all stunningly photographed. This picture is a must for every true movie fan.

A little strange at times, but since when has that been a bad thing? This nice and intelligent film is structured on many layers, full of intrigue and double meanings. The plot leaves some things unanswered, which is quite irritating, but not to consider as an actual flaw.

Some characters remind me of some of Lynch's disturbing, mysterious figures. And this German (?) director tries to give the film an extra layer via images, which he mostly succeeds.

I recommend it. It is exquisitely performed and filmed.

The story (if you can call it that) is of a girl who works in a Tokyo hostess bar only to uncover a bizarre murder mystery. The screenplay is a rambling mishmash of ideas that -while not entirely successful- maintains our interest throughout and leaves us scratching our heads in bewilderment. From the opening scene, we are submerged into the film's environment without warning or introduction, and without expectation, for that matter. The plot is so non-linear and, quite frankly, non-important that we have no choice but to take the picture on its own terms. Even though nothing seems to fit from a conventional perspective, every bizarre moment of the script seems perfectly ordinary within the film's world. None of the characters seem remotely aware of just how strange their surroundings are, and this is how the film manages to succeed. The film-maker does not even TRY to offer an explanation for anything that takes place, he just presents it and expects us to draw our own conclusions. And even if you never reach a conclusion, as was the case with me, it is still an entertaining experience.

even if it did stretch the bounds of believability more than just a little. I enjoyed the performances, found the pacing adequate, and the story interesting and different. Maybe it is a good idea, once in a while, to simply abandon audience expectations and simply tell a fantastic little story.

Magnificent, slow-moving and well-told, "Stratosphere Girl" offers no intense drama, preferring instead a slow accumulation of subtle moments - shifts in color or seconds of eye contact - to express emotion and detail in the story. Such small, easily missed moments are surrounded by an eye-popping visual style - elegance is raised to unearthly levels throughout. An excellent film which has much to reveal.