All About Lilly Chou-Chou
2001
Ah, to be young again and experience anew the horror show that is youth. In Shunji Iwai's ALL ABOUT LILY CHOU-CHOU there is nothing redeeming about the adolescent years. It's an out-and-out war among teen peers. If viewers were shocked at the frank depiction of sexuality and violence in Larry Clark's KIDS, then they'll flip .. Read more
| Starring | Hayato Ichihara, Shugo Oshinari, Yu Aoi, Miwako Ichikawa |
|---|---|
| Director | Shunji Iwai |
| Genres | Drama, Gay/Lesbian, World Cinema |
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All About Lilly Chou-Chou
Ah, to be young again and experience anew the horror show that is youth. In Shunji Iwai's ALL ABOUT LILY CHOU-CHOU there is nothing redeeming about the adolescent years. It's an out-and-out war among teen peers. If viewers were shocked at the frank depiction of sexuality and violence in Larry Clark's KIDS, then they'll flip over LILY CHOU-CHOU, which is just as gritty and twice as rough.
Yuichi Hasumi (Hayato Ichihara), Shusuke Hoshino (Shugo Oshinari), and their cohorts artfully dodge a string of life-threatening nightmares and seek release through overactive involvement in cyber culture, pop music, and celebrity. Hasumi plods through junior high school guarded and mostly mute, but in the soft cocoon of cyberspace he proves to be ravenous for joyful expression. He and his classmates abide by an unwritten code that these impulses are voiced only in the stunted dialogue of a chat room dedicated to the fictitious pop star, Lily Chou-Chou. Meanwhile, the same kids spend their days sitting in classrooms run by bullies and are fed a regular diet of public humiliation, petty thievery, and straight violence.
Iwai has established himself in Japan with such films as APRIL STORY, SWALLOWTAIL BUTTERFLY, and PICNIC, and is known for "cool" subject matter. Its obvious in seeing LILY CHOU-CHOU that he is a clear barometer of pop trends. The ecstatic compositions and ample palette of shockingly lush colours provide a unique, private, happy ending.
| Starring | Hayato Ichihara, Shugo Oshinari, Yu Aoi, Miwako Ichikawa, Izumi Inamori, Aymi Ito, Takao Osawa |
|---|---|
| Director | Shunji Iwai |
| Run time | DVD: 2 hrs 26 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama, Gay/Lesbian, World Cinema |
| Language | DVD: Japanese |
| Subtitles | DVD: English |
| Released | DVD: 28 Jul 2003 Production year: 2001 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (6)
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Adapted by Shunji Iwai from his own interactive online novel, this is a troubling insight into the impact that the internet, pop culture iconography and isolation have on the impressionable mind. Resplendent with striking imagery, the episodic story details how introspective teenager Hayato Ichihara not only becomes addicted to the titular, fictional pop star, but also becomes enamoured by two classmates — musician Ayumi Ito and the abused Yu Aoi — whose fates are dictated by school bully Shugo Oshinari. The maelstrom of adolescent emotion is thoughtfully explored, but more notable is Iwai's compositional sense and his inspired use of sound and silence.
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"...LILY CHOU-CHOU has allowed its director to discover a new kind of cultural phenomenon: it's a slow-moving whirlwind. He loves his characters, and the picture offers an extensive range of emotional coloration..."
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Most helpful member's review
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15 out of 16 people found this review helpful
An intriguing film
I hadn't heard anything about this movie before I watched it so I didn’t have any expectations but I thought it was excellent. The way the story line develops over a chat room is quite unique and it kept me both intrigued and riveted. Essentially, it is a story about two school boys and their way of dealing with being bullied - one turns into being a sadistic bully himself and the other uses music and a chat room as a means of escape. While to the outside world the two boys seem a world apart, they both struggle to answer the same adolescent questions about who they are and what they want.
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Most recent members' review
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1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
weak
i'm not sure why other reviewers are giving this high marks. i think it is overlong and weak. even after two hours plus, we still learned very little about the characters and therefore had no opportunity to care about what happened to them. i think the film is shallow and needed more development - and is far too long considering how little we are given. disappointing. i would look at the overall star rating rather than a few glowing reviews.
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All About Lilly Chou-Chou
Ah, to be young again and experience anew the horror show that is youth. In Shunji Iwai's ALL ABOUT LILY CHOU-CHOU there is nothing redeeming about the adolescent years. It's an out-and-out war among teen peers. If viewers were shocked at the frank depiction of sexuality and violence in Larry Clark'...
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