All About Lily Chou-Chou is a movie that deals in teenaged alienation and admiration. Based around a fictional popstar named Lily Chou-Chou, the characters inhibit a sense of realism that makes the movie perfectly palatable to a bigger audience. However on a technical term, the movie brings together a number of creative methods. The emails (or messageboard) that are strewn throughout display a strong realisation of our admiration towards such media personas. It also explores the idolism we give out to people that influence and connect with us through an art form, which in this case is music.
Some of the scenes can be confusing as there is not too much coherence throughout the movie in terms of a plot line however we see scenes of suburban torment, beautiful acres of green fields that are superbly shot and long shots of beaches and the sea. Also contained in the movie is two opposing sides of teenaged life; care-free fun and angst-filled isolation. The story of Kuno is a sad one, we see her raped and see her head shaven which ends up leading to her death. We also see classroom violence which may very well be exaggerated for melancholic effect but definitely has a profound influence on the viewer.
A lot of things about this movie make it an interesting watch but my only concern with it is that maybe it's too long. Due to the 146 or so minute runtime, there are times where I felt parts could be cut down. The padding out the director has took with the movie does take away from the enjoyment of it and perhaps with a little more editing, I would find the movie more engrossing. However, the film does generate a good amount of interesting scenes and relatable characters which doesn't make the movie a chore to watch. Nothing here is challenging except for the overkilled duration. But with the right state of mind, one may enjoy the floating camera shots of urban and rural Japan.
Some of the scenes can be confusing as there is not too much coherence throughout the movie in terms of a plot line however we see scenes of suburban torment, beautiful acres of green fields that are superbly shot and long shots of beaches and the sea. Also contained in the movie is two opposing sides of teenaged life; care-free fun and angst-filled isolation. The story of Kuno is a sad one, we see her raped and see her head shaven which ends up leading to her death. We also see classroom violence which may very well be exaggerated for melancholic effect but definitely has a profound influence on the viewer.
A lot of things about this movie make it an interesting watch but my only concern with it is that maybe it's too long. Due to the 146 or so minute runtime, there are times where I felt parts could be cut down. The padding out the director has took with the movie does take away from the enjoyment of it and perhaps with a little more editing, I would find the movie more engrossing. However, the film does generate a good amount of interesting scenes and relatable characters which doesn't make the movie a chore to watch. Nothing here is challenging except for the overkilled duration. But with the right state of mind, one may enjoy the floating camera shots of urban and rural Japan.
