Linda Linda Linda

Describing the plot won't do it justice - it's so much more than yet another "putting a band together" movie. Every character is believable, and comes with a story making her or him alive.

There're laughs a-plenty, and at other times I found myself sitting there with a big smile on my face, from pure joy. And yet I wouldn't call it a comedy, as the laughs are not really central to the movie.

And then there's music, full of raw energy and quite memorable - many in the audience left the theater humming and whistling the title song.

I guess the best thing about this film is that it is real, there's nothing contrived or false in it that I could see. Generally I have no problem suspending disbelief and accepting the (lack of) internal logic of the world created in a movie. With Linda Linda Linda there was no need for that. It was easy to embrace the world of a high school festival and enjoy every minute of the screen time.

Hmmm... I think director Nobuhiro Yamashita's other films could well be worth watching.

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.

I just saw this film at the Toronto Film Fest and this is what Josie and The Pussycats should have been. This charming little Japanese film will have you singing the Blue Hearts title song over and over. A group of aspiring teenage girls form a band to perform for the high school rock festival, can they get it together? Kudos to Nobuhiro Yamashita for putting together such a cute and impressive cast of young women who make up the band who are all skilled actresses. This is a sweet film that will win over any teenage girl who ever thought that they could start an indie band (but also wins over an adult crowd with it's modest charm and it's humor). Fans of Japanese female bands like Shonen Knife and the 5678s will also dig this film I think.

BAE Du-Na (Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance, Take Care of My Cat) as Song wins my vote as the most endearing oddball in this film who wins you over with her big eyes and teenage awkwardness (not to mention a lot of funny misunderstandings because she is a Korean exchange student who speaks little Japanese). Generally this is a movie that will be talked about a lot I think when it gets a full release. Hands down one of the best at the Toronto fest this year (2005).

please ignore the other comment . this movie is simple and effective. i saw it during the festival du nouveau cinema in montreal. i just randomly picked it even if the synopsis didn't seem that interesting...

set in japan, its about 4 teenage girls who form a rock band so that they can play a song at their school festival. the characters are well developed. the images are reallllly nice.(a la jim jarmusch) its like a teen movie made for people who don't usually like teen movies. the pace is a bit slower than usual teen movies but its much more mature and still ends up being funny.

plus, the soundtrack, by james iha (ex-smashingpumpkins), is quite good

go see it. or rent it or whatever.

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!