Too much of everything

Just perfect...

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Kamikaze Girls uses the Japanese fascination with all things Rock and Roll as an ideal framework for its utterly fun tale of opposites coming together. The saturated colors used throughout the film work well—as the technique did also in Amelie—to lend a sense of magic to every scene. It is refreshing to see such cinematic energy—American cinema is often bogged down by its addiction to size, resulting in season after season of movies like beached whales. Kamikaze Girls is, in comparison, like watching dolphins play. And many of them are worth keeping an eye on. Anna Tsuchiya's performance as the complex Ichigo is absolutely electric—she can be over-the-top and subtle in the same breath. It is hard to imagine a film that could fully utilize Sadao Abe's remarkable physical talent—but I hope to see it when it happens. The film is about being what you want to be… and it gets a 10 from me because it does exactly that.

It's a Japanese movie. You may find the acting a bit caricatural or extreme, but I guess this is due to the history of Noh theater strongly present in Japaneses culture. Past this possible barrier, the movie itself is entertaining. The two main characters are played deliciously by remarkable actresses (again, considering that they are acting in the Japanese style).The movie immerses you into the Gothic Lolita culture, as the heroin is the typical representative of that movement. Lots of insights into the whys and hows of that culture. There is also a fun vision of the Japanese punk subculture, represented by the Yankis.It's a comedy, so you laugh or smile a lot. But the above mentioned aspects also make it a very interesting movie.I'll watch it again. More than a few times.

This movie starts very good and reaches a point where it starts to go downhill until it becomes only an OK "pretty" picture to watch .. I don't know why I felt that ?? is just trying to be a Japanese "Amiele".At least "Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain" puts you at ease .. this movie uses the same cinematography technique but in a very annoying way.Don't get me wrong .. I'm not saying it is a bad movie .. it is just an OK watch-able movie.Anna Tsuchiya was unconvincing sometimes .. and her character is too innocent in the other hand, Kyôko Fukada was overreacting Director Tetsuya Nakashima has done a good job .. especially with the visual effects.

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.