SYNOPSICS
Shimotsuma monogatari (2004) is a Japanese,French,English movie. Tetsuya Nakashima has directed this movie. Kyoko Fukada,Anna Tsuchiya,Hiroyuki Miyasako,Sadao Abe are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2004. Shimotsuma monogatari (2004) is considered one of the best Comedy movie in India and around the world.
Momoko Ryugasaki is the daughter of a smalltime gangster that forges Versace brand and a lowlife woman. Momoko is smitten by the Rococo period and dresses in a Lolita style, with frilly dresses and embroidery bonnet. She is raised by her father since her mother divorced him to marry her gynecologist, and he has taught her how to perfectly embroider. When Mr. Ryugasaki includes the Universal Studios brand in his products, he is forced to move to the rural Shimotsuma with Momoko to live in the house of her grandmother. Momoko decides to sell her collection of forged Versace and Universal Studios to make money to buy her expensive clothing. The rebel "yanki" Ichigo Shirayuri visits Momoko to buy clothes and soon they begin the most unlikely friendship.
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Shimotsuma monogatari (2004) Reviews
Clever, Unique and Charming Movie with a Misleading American Title
Nakashima Tetsuya's wonderful "Shimotsuma Monogatari" (Shimotsuma Story) is quite a unique and charming film. I had my doubts at first but the film turned out to be a refreshing surprise. Mixing anime, quirky narrative, inventive storytelling, outrageous comedy and Japanese Pop Culture charm this movie is a really endearing movie. Stylistically, as others have noted, it does recall movies like "Trainspotting" and "Run, Lola, Run" but I think "Shimotsuma Monogatari" is much closer in style to Yaguchi Shinobu's "Swing Girls" and "Waterboys", both of which are also really wonderful. J-Pop singer/actress Fukuda Kyoko is infectiously cute as Momoko, the "Lolita" fashion obsessed girl with a naive yet surprising take on life. Her French 17th Century (Rocco) styled fashions are at times oddball and avant-garde and yet surprisingly cool looking that it's little wonder why American Pop Singer Gwen Stefani has drawn inspiration from this fashion trend for her L.A.M.B. fashion line and to dress her Harajuku Girls. Anna Tsuchiya is also a wonderful surprise as Ichiko/Ichigo, the tough talking "Yanki" Sukeban with a heart of gold. She has most of the best lines in the movie and is also quite a cutie (behind the Sukeban makeup). The only criticism I have for the film is the stupid American title "Kamikaze Girls". It really doesn't do justice to the film at all and is a real turnoff as it brings to mind a "Yakuza" film or perhaps a war picture in a stereotyping tongue-and-cheek way. Why not just call it simply "Momoko and Ichigo" (i.e. Peaches and Strawberry) or some other title that is a bit more relevant. Other than that this film is a pure joy and delight and a welcomed change to Japanese cinema.
Amelie meets Thelma & Louise meets Excel Saga
Simply absurd, imaginative, unreal. A naive Kyoko Fukada in Lolita shape, fan of embroidery and Rococò and its fabulous lacy dresses , meets a bad-to-the-bone female thug that will change her life. The story is the quintessence of pop culture's exaltation, a movie so coloured that makes Cutie Honey a faded charcoal, a demential opera as much as Excel Saga, a reflection on the true importance of friends and dears. Kyoko Fukada's acting is perfect, she makes what she does better: an ingenuous little girl. Anna Tsuchiya is a very talented actress, can't wait to see her on the new Katsushito Ishii..
Divine Sisterhood of Kamikaze Girls
After a series of well crafted and highly imaginative features, strangely initiating their collective march, the year 2004 became easily recognizable as a strong starting point for the genre that fuses real life situations with surreal imagery, fantasy sequences and eccentric music. Although it has been done before, I think lately directors have grown more keen to devoting more time and money into creating something that is as unconventional to the mind as it is hard for people to even categorize or describe to one another. Kamikaze Girls tells a story of Momoko, young student infatuated with the 18th century life style and beliefs, perfectly enduring a life without any friends and sharing interest in designing summery clothes. Her time of tranquility and virtue are disrupted by the newly acquainted female biker named Ichigo, who looks just as tough as she sounds. At first glance both characters seem very vulnerable to overplaying their roles and coming off pretentious and forced, but they manage not only to avoid such frailties but also provide good comical sense and delivery without tiring clichés. A then debuting actress Anna Tsuchiya is remarkable and effortlessly showcases her talent by diving into her character's past and portraying someone very different from who she has become now. In some ways she reminded me of Cecilia Cheung and her wonderful debut in King Of Comedy. The conflict of the story is rather light and its resolution is equally fitting without overindulging itself with melodrama and tragedy. It was time well spent and even though I didn't acquire a great piece of mind, I know that I enjoyed every minute of this film. Within such genre of limitless possibilities and with these similar yet unique films like Mind Game, Survive Style 5+ and Otakus in Love, the future of visionary cinema is looking exceptionally promising and I hope that some of these first time directors only grow stronger and dive deeper into the realm of their richly ambient senses to express even the simplest tales of life.
Effervescently vivid direction makes magic out of a simple story
A completely enchanting and engrossing comedy-drama about two 17 year old girls, vastly different from each other (one a self-absorbed dreamer with a love for Rococco period fashion and behavior; the other a rebellious biker chick), who become friends and change each other's lives. The film makes the most of this simple plot line, and it's the compelling personalities of the characters, beautifully overplayed by Kyoko Fukada and Anna Tsuchiya, respectively. The film is told through a color-saturated visualization and stylish direction by Tetsuya Nakashima, who adopts a manic style not unlike that of Jean-Pierre Jeunet in AMELIA or Tom Twyker in RUN LOLA RUN, with jump-cut flashbacks, bizarre cut-aways and edits; the effervescent vitality of Nakashima's direction coupled with the performances of the lead and supporting cast really make this film a fascinating and repeatedly watchable experience. Also of note is a terrific score, which varies from J-Pop to American hard rock and punk, to classical (one fight scene is set to Strauss' Blue Danube) and really sets the film's aural tone and pacing; Yoko Kanno (MEMORIES, ESCALFLOWNE, GHOST IN THE SHELL: STANDALONE COMPLEX, and Nakashima's previous SUMMER TALE) is responsible for the underscore and several of the songs.
Shimotsuma Fairy Tale - A coming of age tale
This a well-done girls' coming-of-age tale, like a Japanese 21st-century Alice in Wonderland - one Lewis Carroll would probably have liked. And I presume whoever gave the Kamikaze Girls title to the American edition would have titled the Alice work Kamikaze Alice. The underlying themes are independent thinking, the value of friendship, and the need to pursue one's creative impulses while critically evaluating surrounding people and opportunities. Most the adult figures in the film are - in one way or another - failures. Though seen in an exaggerated, humorous, or empathetic light, they serve as guideposts to the two girls who come to realize that salvation (or "sallvation" as Ichigo misspells it for emphasis) lies not in following the crowd, not in seeking leaders' approval, but in following one's own dreams - as much as they can be realized in this limited, 3-dimensional, mortal world. Early in the film, I feared it was headed to be too sweet, especially with the main characters being Momoko (Peaches) and Ichigo (Strawberries). But this sweetness is quickly counterbalanced with the challenges and adventures they face. This is a fun and very unique film, good for people of all ages. In ways, it's set in a society that seems closer to the U.S. of the 1950's - around the "beat" and the James Dean eras, when youth could be wild without police being called, and yet neighborhoods could leave front doors unlocked without fear and kids could even hitch-hike - an age of greater homogeneity when America had some cultural unity and - with exception of its black-white scar - was not afraid of itself. I obtained this film, by the way, in VCD format (not the best, but adequate), I believe, from HKFlix. I couldn't find it anywhere in DVD format.