Kamikaze Girls

Reviewer: Erin Donovan
Rating (out of 5): ****

Kamikaze Girls
There is such an absence of films about female friendships (that don't revolve around abusive marriages, competition or cancer) that I can't even find a citation to contextualize my angst on the matter. Seriously, where is my Deer Hunter, Good Will Hunting or Rio Bravo (I'd even show up for a Dudette, Where's My Car)? There was a quick spate of studio releases in the 80s and early 90s that fit the bill, but they were mostly mired in tragic circumstances (Foxes, The Legend of Billie Jean, Times Square, Ladies and Gentlemen the Fabulous Stains, Little Darlings, Heavenly Creatures, Foxfire, etc) and few of them are even available on DVD.

So it's very exciting to find Tetsuya Nakashima's Kamikaze Girls, an adaptation of a wildly popular graphic novel ("The Story of Shimotsuma") about two young women who have taken up very different methods of rebellion in the oppressively dull surroundings in very rural and style-free Shimotsuma (known primarily for its cabbage production). Momoko (Kyôko Fukada of Dolls, Ringu 2) is a frilly-dressing existentialist who daydreams of living in 18th century Vienna. Ichigo (Anna Tsuchiya of Taste of Tea) is a formerly shy girl now a member of the Ponytails, the toughest motorcycle gang in town. They form an oddball friendship, bonding over the clothes that make them stand out amongst the cabbage, keeping themselves entertained and helping each other out of scrapes in a style that is something akin to Amelie if it had been directed by Quentin Tarantino.

Even though America's greatest export may be its celebrities, one can't help but notice when many of our model/singer types are put in front of a film camera they appear to be dead on the inside. But Fukada and Tsuchiya are both established pop stars in Japan and bring a knowing sweetness to their characters that grounds them even during Nakashima's most lavish set pieces and animated flghts of fancy.

The DVD extras include short interviews with the leads as well as a very cool "Sideways mode" that when enabled has a cabbage appear on the corner of the screen providing tutorials on some of the cultural and geographical references that may otherwise be lost on an American viewer.

See also: Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion, Me Without You, Better Luck Tomorrow, Survive Style 5+, Mod Fuck Explosion, Tony Takitani.