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.

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.

I'm happy to report that the Japanese film Linda Linda Linda, which screened tonight at NYAFF (and was the first film of the festival that I was able to go see at the ImaginAsian theater) is hands-down the best movie I've seen at the festival so far. An upbeat and joyous film about a high school girls' rock and roll band, it's practically guaranteed to go straight to the heart of anyone who believes in music, and its power to save one's soul.

The plot is as straightforward as they come. Shiba High School is holding their annual Holly Festival complete with a musical talent show, and three friends - drummer Kyoko (Aki Madea, Battle Royale), keyboardist-turned-guitarist Kei (Yu Kasii, Lorelei) and bassist Nozomi (Shiori Sekine, of the real band Base Ball Bear) are struggling to get a band together. After their previous guitarist injures her finger and has to bow out, they recruit shy Korean exchange student Song (Bae Doo-Na, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance) as their vocalist, and decide to cover three songs by the Clash-esquire 80's J-punk group The Blue Hearts. After weeks of staying up all night practicing, jamming until the wee hours (not to mention the fact that Song has to learn her lyrics phonetically), they are finally ready to play their music before their teachers and friends.

Admittedly, the description above probably makes this movie sound like every other movie about a band, or a sports team, or some kind of sentimental, rah-rah "Eye of the Tiger" pap. Trust me - nothing could be farther from the truth. What this movie is about is the people - the four schoolgirls that are its main characters are as quirky, and as button-cute, but also as three dimensional, as anyone you'd meet in life, and the movie's long, uninterrupted takes and improv-style acting give us a fly-on-the-wall feeling of being there. Opening with a MiniDV shot of one girl giving an on-camera interview about the Holly Festival, the movie starts out depicting its characters with shy restraint, gradually revealing more and more about their personalities, foibles, their joys and sorrows, until eventually, they literally start to feel like our friends. By the end, when the group performs their songs, we've honestly forgotten that they are characters in a film. We want to stand up and applaud.

I would honestly say that Linda Linda Linda is one of the greatest rock and roll films I've ever seen. Being a recent film, it doesn't have the legendary status of This Is Spinal Tap or A Hard Day's Night, but honestly, it's up there. This is rock and roll stripped down to its very core. No pretension, no decadence, no sex, drugs, limos, and all of that bullshit - just the three-chord structure of a song and its power to save lives. It's a truly beautiful thing to see and hear.

Saw this yesterday at the London Film Festival, and as a fan of The Blue Hearts, I wasn't disappointed. Four schoolgirls start a covers band so they can play at the school festival, and have to overcome a tight time-limit and personal dramas before they get there.

The film is beautifully acted and shot, and totally sweet from start to finish. At two hours it's a tad over-long, but some mesmeric camera-work and subtle humour helps it along nicely. The casting is superb, with every character believable and captivating. And of course the music's fantastic - the title song gets played to death but it's still a cool cover of a great Japanese punk song, and James Iha of Smashing Pumpkins does a brilliant job with the incidental music.

I'm so glad this film got an English sub, and considering how quickly the tickets sold out for these two London screenings, a full release would be warmly welcomed. Highly recommended.

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.