Kamikaze Girls
by Tetsuya Nakashima
List Price:
Our Price: $14.34
You Save: $10.58 (42%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $10.00 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Anna Tsuchiya, Eiko Koike, Hiroyuki Miyasako, Kyôko Fukada, Sadao AbeDirector: Tetsuya Nakashima
Brand: Ventura Distribution
Writer: Tetsuya Nakashima
Producer: Arimasa Okada
Producer: Kazuya Hamana
Producer: Kunikatsu Kondo
Producer: Masayuki Miyashita
Producer: Sachiko Sone
Writer: Nobara Takemoto
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Japanese (Original Language), Stereo
Format: Animated, Color, Dolby, DVD, Live, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 103 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-01-10
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Model: DKG01
Studio: VIZ Pictures, Inc.
Product features:
- Meet Momoko, a self-absorbed dreamer who fantasizes about fleeing her backcountry home and living life in 18th century Versailles. When she unexpectedly meets the rebellious Ichigo, a rough-and-tumble biker chick, the two misfits form a unique friendship--together, nothing can stop them! Born from the pages of favorite cult author Novala Takemoto, Kamikaze Girls is a frenetic roller-coaster ride b
Movie Reviews of Kamikaze Girls
Movie Review: Living by your own threads instead of the cheap and casual
Summary: 5 Stars
One of the few delightful movies I've seen in recent years is this quirky adaptation of Novala Takemoto's novel. Dreamer Momoko Ryugasaki feels stranded in Shimotsuma in Ibaraki Prefecture, north of Tokyo, i.e. the boonies. She feels more at home in France's opulent Rococo period (1715-1770), cutting quite a figure dressed in her pink Lolita dress, white parasol, and white platforms. She is the main character and narrator, occasionally speaking to the camera.
Momoko lives with her loser father and grandmother in a shabby hut, a far cry from her birthplace, the bustling bargain hunters' paradise of Amagasaki in Hyogo Prefecture--a suburb of Osaka on the northeast shore of Osaka Bay. She has an individualistic approach to life, at one point not hesitating to tell made up stories of a classmate in trouble to get money to buy her expensive Lolita clothes, leading her father to bawl in sympathy and fork over the cash. "So what if I was deceitful? My happiness was at stake. It's not wrong to feel good. But actually my soul is rotten." A retread of that 60's mentality of if it makes you happy, do it.
Enter Ichiko Shiyayuri, a tough-looking, rough-talking, sometimes hot-tempered member of the ladies biker gang The Ponytails who occasionally spits, to the disgust of the more refined Momoko. She is astounded and appreciated at being able to buy a bogus Versace jacket for only 2000 yen ($20), and there starts the beginning of the one of the most unlikely friendships ever. Ichiko's more down-to-earth and more connected to people than Momoko and when the latter makes a comment that really pi**es her off, headbutts her.
Ichiko wants to find a legendary embroiderer named Emma in Tokyo's Daikanyama area. Turns out that Akimi, the fierce but elegant leader of the Ponytails is retiring and Ichiko wants to show her gratitude by having some special stitching done on her long kamikaze coat. However, they need money and poor Momoko is hijacked by Ichiko to a pachinko parlour.
Scenes not in the book: some surreal humour when Momoko buys a cabbage then hands it to Ichiko. "This is your new friend." Another is a low-ranking yakuza named Ryuji whose hairdo has to be seen to be believed--hint, his nickname is Unicorn Ryuji. The dual branding scene of tying in Universal Studios and Versace has a humorous side, when to mock the copyright violation done by Momoko's dad on his counterfeit goods, the words "Versace" and "Universal" are bleeped to make them "Ver*ch" and "Uni*sal Studios." Also satirized are people who feel proud to save money at Jusco--Japan's Walmart, and pose like in brochures, cheesy smile and all--"this polo shirt cost me only 800 yen." "These people are twisted," says a disgusted Momoko with a sour expression on her face.
Shimotsuma Monogatari benefits from the dynamic performances of Kyoko Fukada as Momoko and half Japanese/half Russian Anna Tsuchiya as Ichigo. Fukada's very fetching in the supercute Lolita costumes, which do a nice job of contrasting her tanned complexion and milk-tea coloured hair. Her expressions are delightful from her cute babyishness to when her eyes widen. Tsuchiya herself has some comic moments, when she clowns around in the Aristocratic Forest café trying to attract Fukada's attention. But there is a poignant moment when she gets heartbroken, showing her to be more human than Momoko. Tsuchiya is definitely the better actress, having won more awards for this film than Fukada.
Included in the eclectic soundtrack are the Petula Clark-ish "Lucie Est Amoreuse," the melancholy Lisa Loeb-ish "She Said," the slamming power pop of "Time Machine wa Onegai," and Yoko Kanno's score, ranging from sweet violin, ragtime piano, and French café accordion melodies.
One other theme is finding one's niche. Momoko feels at home wearing her Lolita clothes and is great at embroidery. Ichiko's happy fixing bikes at a mechanic's shop in Tsuchiura, but doesn't want people telling her what to do. Also, choose your own style over the cheap and casual--Daikanyama's Baby The Stars Shine Bright boutique over Jusco.
Watching Shimotsuma Monogatari inspired me to visit the Ushiku Buddha and Shimotsuma itself during my Japan trip. The interior of the Shimotsuma station has been altered from the original, no big screen TV, but the platform where Momoko is seen waiting for her train is accurate.
Shimotsuma Monogatari is a funny off-the-wall cult comedy that will be appreciated by Japanophiles, particularly those interested in the youth and fashion scene. One complaint: why Kamikaze Girls? What's wrong with the original title?
This review sponsored by Ver**ch and Uni**al.
Summary of Kamikaze Girls
KAMIKAZE GIRLS - DVD MovieSimilar DVD Movies
The Makioka Sisters (The Criterion Collection)IMG; Release date: 2011-06-14; DVD
Best price: $11.23
Price in other shops:
Kabei - Our MotherRelease date: 2009-09-08; DVD
Best price: $24.89
Price in other shops:
Tokyo GodfathersSony; Release date: 2004-04-13; DVD
Best price: $7.46
Price in other shops:
Gothic and Lolitaby Masayuki Yoshinaga, Katsuhiko Ishikawa
Phaidon Press; Published: 2007-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $18.79
Price in other shops:
DeparturesKoch International; Release date: 2010-01-12; DVD
Best price: $13.25
Price in other shops:
The Taste of TeaVIZ; Release date: 2007-07-03; DVD
Best price: $14.46
Price in other shops:
Train Man : Densha OtokoWarner Brothers; Release date: 2007-02-06; DVD
Best price: $15.42
Price in other shops:
Linda Linda LindaVIZ MEDIA; Release date: 2007-05-08; DVD
Best price: $14.41
Price in other shops:
NanaVIZ; Release date: 2008-04-08; DVD
Best price: $14.20
Price in other shops:
Kamikaze Girlsby Novala Takemoto
VIZ Media LLC; Published: 2008-01-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.00
Price in other shops: