Customer Reviews
Way better than the book 
2008-07-04
For anyone who read the book and was dissapointed by its lack of actual storyline until at least half way through the novel should give the movie a try. I was soooo excited when I rented it because it's one of those movies that is just plain out fun to watch.
Great movie! 
2008-05-27
Before I start, I have to sa that the subtitels are FINE. and you can READ THEM. A lot of people b--- about it, but I could read them just fine!
For the movie, it was great. Cute, funny, and even brought a tear to my eye. The movie really showed me how great Japanses movies can be (that are not based on Anime) I hope to find more like this. I really injoy the Lolita look, and might protray it now.
All in all this is a great movie.
Shimotsuma Monogatari (Kamikaze Girls) 2008-05-11
This is a very fun, and cute movie that also has some morals in it. I recommend it to anyone who is curious or a lover of the Lolita style in Japan. Kyoko Fukada and Anna Tsuchiya are both very good actresses!
Frills & Flowers 2008-03-11
"Kamikaze Girls" is wildly inventive. Japanese pop star Kyoko Fukada plays Momoko, a girl whose heart and style are attached to the Rococo period in France where dresses bloomed frills & flowers, beautiful and ornate. The visual look of this film is a key element. Stylistically, ABC's TV series "Pushing Daisies" is kin with its larger than life settings. Fukada does a great job with wide-eyed innocence. Ichigo is played by Anna Tsuchiya as a motorcycle girl whose hard edges and constant spitting are the polar opposites of Momoko. Tetsuya Nakashima does a good job directing this wildly improbably but thoroughly entertaining piece.
Many of the supporting cast are also excellent. Hiroyuki Miyasako who was in Casshern: Director's Cut plays Momoko's heartbroken father. His zany antics are over-the-top as he parades around in his boxers and has a flatulence episode. Kirin Kiki who has been in over 60 films plays Momoko's grandmother who seems a bit touched in the head, but who can pull a dragonfly out of the air. Ryoko Shinohara plays Momoko's mother who abandoned the family to pursue her dream of happiness. Yoshinori Okada's cameo as the owner of the Baby, the Stars Shine Bright clothing store is somewhere between Elvis Presley and Liberace in style. With cabbages flying unpredictably, this is a delightfully brainy piece of Japanese cinema. Enjoy!
fun, fun fun 2008-01-20
This kinetically paced movie is pure feminine fun. It's about following your own path in life as we follow the budding friendship between two very different teenage girls in a suburb ~60 miles outside of Toyko. Not being too hip to the Japanese youth culture, I loved that this disc has a "sideways" version of the movie. What is that you ask? It's the movie with cabbages appearing on the bottom of the screen periodically and if you press the "enter" button whenever you see one, you get a quick footnote on what is going on in the movie for those of us who need it. These extra little tidbits were great for providing insight into this very different culture.
The characters were quirky and fascinating. I loved "little peach", an emotionally detached girl whose true devotion is saved for the Rococo period. She dresses in the Lolita fashion to reflect this love. She was an outcast in school and liked it that way. Into her life careens "little strawberry", who changes her name to befit her position in a girls' biker gang (we're talking mopeds here). She owes her loyalty to the gang's leader who saved her old timid self and made her who she is today. A girl that bangs heads with anybody who gets in her way or annoys her. It is a delight to watch the deepening bond of sisterhood forming between this intriguing duo.
True, this movie is part fantasy, part comic book and chick-lit but it all adds up to an amazing movie that just zips by way too fast. I understand it was based on a popular series of books. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for an American version (don't we copy all of their best?) but I'm not sure it would translate well.
A witty and charming tale 2008-01-20
Kooky, kinetic, and colorful, 2004's
Kamikaze Girls is a delight, and one that could only have come from Japan. Our principal character and narrator is Momoko (Kyoko Fukada), the 17-year-old product of a highly dysfunctional marriage who wishes she'd lived in 18th Century France, during the Rococo age; instead, she and her bonnets and frilly dresses are stuck in Japan's rural outback, where she abides by a philosophy that claims, "If I can't live independently, I'd rather be a water flea." Enter Ichigo (Anna Tsuchiya), a tough-talking, head-butting, scooter-riding thug who doesn't know rococo from rock & roll, and whom the haughty Momoko deplores and mostly ignores--at least until they're brought together by, of all things, embroidery (Momoko's good at it, Ichigo needs some for her biker threads). Suffice it to say that these two oddballs form a union of sorts, and
Kamikaze Girls (entitled
Shimotsuma Monogatari in Japanese) ultimately delivers a fairly straightforward message about independence, loneliness, and friendship. But getting there is quite a trip. Director and co-writer Tetsuya Nakashima combines live action, animation, special effects, fourth-wall asides, fantasy sequences, and more in a dazzling onslaught of images; in that way, as well as in its overall outlook ("Humans are cowards in the face of happiness," says one character), the film is somewhat reminiscent of
Amelie. True,
Kamikaze Girls lacks the full measure of that French film's grace, heart, and charm. But for sheer imaginativeness and cinematic virtuosity, this one's hard to beat.
--Sam Graham
Click Those Cabbages!! 2007-11-20
While some critics deem Tetsuya Nakashima's work a Tarantino imitation, I think you can easily dismiss those accusations. Here's why: A.) although the film uses animation (which critics tie to Kill Bill) it is a faster-paced, more distorted use of animation B.) although the film is postmodern (and Tarantino is a postmodern genius), plenty of other films are equally as postmodern (if not more so!) (such as Fincher's Fight Club, Lynch's Mulholland Drive and even Scott's Blade Runner) C.) although this film uses "kitsch" (which is Tarantino's hallmark) it is a "kitsch" all its own. Most importantly, while Tarantino finds connection through violence (which definitely works for him), Tetsuya Nakashima finds connection through devotion/friendship. Pure and simple. So, do not allow the film's detractors keep you from buying this work.
And, while some Western viewers may be concerned that they will not understand the humor (a valid concern), most of the film transcends cultural boundaries ... it is, a film for young women about friendship (a universal concept). (And, outside of Momoko's Father and Ryuji 'the Unicorn,' there are virtually no men involved).
Still, here are some details you might like to know:
1.) "Baby, The Stars Shine Bright"(aka "Baby" aka "BTSSB") is a real boutique which features Lolita couture.In fact, one just opened in Paris (and there is talk of a BTSSB opening in San Fransisco).
2.) The Sweet Lolita clothing that Momoko wears in" Kamikaze Girls" is comparable to the prices of traditional designer dresses. This trend (begun in the 1970's) is one geared to those with disposable incomes.
3.) Ichiko's real name "Ichigo" means "strawberry" in some translations (which is why Ichiko insists on being called anything but "strawberry"). But "Ichigo" can also mean "one word."
4.) Kyôko Fukada (Momoko Ryugasaki) and Anna Tsuchiya (Ichigo Shirayuri) are J-pop stars. And while in American we think of the train-wrecks created by music-stars-turned-actors (like Brittney Spears, Mandy Moore, and Mariah Carrey), the acting here is brilliant. So again, dispel those fears!
This is a super-slick, meticulously crafted, postmodern film. Lush on color and technique. If you enjoy beautiful cinematography, if you wish Ridley Scott's "Thelma and Louise" did not end in a fireball, if you wish there were more films about headbutting and embroidery ... well, then this film was made for you!
Click those cabbages!!
Suggested readings:
Novala Takemoto. Kamikaze Girls. San Francisco: VIZ Media LLC, 2008.
Novala Takemoto. Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne, Vol. 1. San Francisco: VIZ Media LLC, 2006.
Masayuki Yoshinaga and Katsuhiko Ishikawa. Gothic and Lolita. London: Phaidon Press, 2007.
Kamekazi Girls 2007-09-27
This is a fantastic movie that was shipped really fast. Great plot and characters. I would recommend it to everyone.
Is independence being alone? 2007-08-04
Momoka is a self absorbed dreamer who dreams about living in 18th Century Versailles, when no conning her father out of money or making herself look cute and pretty. Like a huge doll. Ichigo is a rebellious biker chick who wants nothing but the freedom to do whatever she wants. Even if she wants nothing!
The story is how these two characters interact and support each other. Interestingly enough, in some ways they are the same, as both do things their way and refuse to be judged or molded by outside forces. The movie isn't that long but that's just because it moves so fast, like a biker gang on a major highway, refusing to slow down.
The extras include interviews with both Kyoko Fukada and Anna Tsuchiyo, as well as an Anna Tsuchiyo music clip. A must for anybody who loves Japanese films, comedy films or weird films.
Baby, the stars shine bright 2007-07-22
If Tom Tykwer and Jean-Pierre Jeunet dropped acid in Tokyo, the resulting movie might be something like "Kamikaze Girls."
At heart, this movie is just a story about an unlikely friendship between two unusual, lonely young girls. But it's also wrapped up in quirky characters, astoundingly stylized cinematography, and dabbed with magical realism and bright colour -- in other words, a made-to-order cult flick.
It opens with a shot of Momoko (Kyôko Fukada) being hit by a cabbage truck, and flung into the air from her moped. She bids farewell to all the things in her life... and decides to rewind so people can see a bit more of it.
The product of a short-lived shotgun marriage, Momoko is an oddity in her rural Japanese village -- she's enamoured of Rococo-era France, and dresses only in "Lolita" clothes. To fund her shopping sprees, she decides to use Ver*ace and Uni*ersal knockoffs her dad used to sell, and immediately gets a customer -- a "yanki" biker named Ichiko (Anna Tsuchiya), who's as punky and raw as Momoko is distant.
The girls soon form an odd friendship, based on embroider, pachinko, and Ichiko's short-lived first love. But their paths lead them in new directions -- Momoko is hired to embroider a new model of dress, and Ichiko finds herself dissatisfied with the new gang organizations. And when she decides to leave her gang, Momoko has no choice but to come to her aid.
When you strip it down to the bone, "Kamikaze Girls" is just a story about two odd girls -- one a "girl anachronism," one a punk biker -- who become friends, and how they come of age and gain their independence in their own unique ways. No more, no less.
Except it's also wrapped in Tetsuya Nakashima's colourful, magical style -- blooming embroidery, flying girls, cartoon interludes about legendary thugs, and rapid-paced camerawork. One particularly funny scene features various villagers posing and reciting prices of a Wal-Martish store's cheap clothing, as if they were in a TV commercial. "The people here are... completely TWISTED," Momoko ponders.
The flashbacks to Momoko's birth and childhood are particularly hilarious, especially since they're so exaggerated. And the dialogue is just funny enough without being obviously so ("It was like salivation!" "Did she mean 'salvation'?"). But Nakashima does insert some understatedly poignant scenes, such as when Ichiko cries on a hillside with Momoko watching her.
Kyôko Fukada does a nice job as the Momoko, who can be haughty one minute and a raging dynamo the next -- depending on whether you dirtied her frilly dress or not. And Anna Tsuchiya is absolutely perfect as the lanky, sometimes violent girl with a sensitive heart underneath. The scene where she attacks a man, shouting, "You speak, she falls. Got a breath problem?" is priceless.
"Kamikaze Girls" is a delightful, hilarious little cult comedy, full of delightful little twists and hilarious dialogue. If only Tetsuya Nakashima would produce a few more of these.
