“i don't understand. i felt like crying when i saw her delight. i, who coldly watched wild animals die? was it the lack of sleep?”
when i was scrolling through amazon prime, i finally found ‘kamikaze girls’, which was basically like the first film i added to my letterboxd watchlist ever. and due to my new obsession with japanese films, i knew it would be a perfect first watch. and believe it or not, it was even better that my expectations (if that was even possible), and now resides in my top 10 favourite movies of all time. it’s definitely not something as intense as i would usually enjoy, but that’s its charm. it’s completely light-hearted, but in the same time is extremely over-the-top and campy, and those are often some of the movies i love the most (gregg araki and john waters movies definitely coming to mind). it’s explosively neon pink and candy-coated aesthetic are eclectic and extremely intriguing to the eye. it’s super stylised, with its frantic pacing, surrealistic animation and jump-cuts, almost imitating a real life manga. a movie could be terrible, and as long as there’s vibrant use of colour or a tiny bit of visual flair or a whitty dialogue, i’d forgive all its sins (my point not being that this movie is bad in any way, but just to get across how much i value visuals or style, and often will always be the most important part of a film, which is honestly probably why i love this hyper-stylised fever-dream so much.) kinda linking to that, it uses its visuals to perpetuate some really odd-ball and whimsical story-telling style, it’s just super fast which allows everything to flow really nicely. lately, i’ve took more infatuation in japanese culture, i mean i'm definitely not really an avid fan of anime or anything, but the different fashion movements are always just super appealing. for instance, lolita fashion. the protagonist shows her dedication to guilt tripping her father for more extravagant clothes, but also inspired by the hedonistic lives of those in the 18th century who were part of the rococo movement, who valued fashion and lived luxurious lives. it shows how the aesthetic is less of a casual dress, and more of a life ambition and a really unrealistic hobby. the two characters dynamic, one a girl called momoko, a girl who appears really feminine and sweet on the outside, but inside being quite avoidant of other humans, kinda dismissing the idea of love or connection, she doesn’t have many friends and kinda isolates herself from the rest of the human population. i love how her personality really contradicts her appearance, and in many ways her character felts a little relatable to me. the other protagonist, ichigo, feels like the complete opposite, she’s a biker who really loud and fierce using fights or spitting as a way to hide her inner vulnerability. both characters feel very different, and that’s the reason this works so well. both characters have electric chemistry, and while they don’t particularly have a traditional romantic story, it’s more about female-bonding, also with some obvious queer-coded undertones which i also loved. the narrative of two juxtaposing characters is truly an interesting one, and not only that but it’s just seems like such a good spirit, showing rejection of societal expectations, acceptance of self and also criticism of consumerism. kamikaze girls is one in a billion, and i’d happily rewatch this 1000 times.
“i don't understand. i felt like crying when i saw her delight. i, who coldly watched wild animals die? was it the lack of sleep?”
when i was scrolling through amazon prime, i finally found ‘kamikaze girls’, which was basically like the first film i added to my letterboxd watchlist ever. and due to my new obsession with japanese films, i knew it would be a perfect first watch. and believe it or not, it was even better that my expectations (if that was even possible), and now resides in my top 10 favourite movies of all time. it’s definitely not something as intense as i would usually enjoy, but that’s its charm. it’s completely light-hearted, but in the same time is extremely over-the-top and campy, and those are often some of the movies i love the most (gregg araki and john waters movies definitely coming to mind). it’s explosively neon pink and candy-coated aesthetic are eclectic and extremely intriguing to the eye. it’s super stylised, with its frantic pacing, surrealistic animation and jump-cuts, almost imitating a real life manga. a movie could be terrible, and as long as there’s vibrant use of colour or a tiny bit of visual flair or a whitty dialogue, i’d forgive all its sins (my point not being that this movie is bad in any way, but just to get across how much i value visuals or style, and often will always be the most important part of a film, which is honestly probably why i love this hyper-stylised fever-dream so much.) kinda linking to that, it uses its visuals to perpetuate some really odd-ball and whimsical story-telling style, it’s just super fast which allows everything to flow really nicely. lately, i’ve took more infatuation in japanese culture, i mean i'm definitely not really an avid fan of anime or anything, but the different fashion movements are always just super appealing. for instance, lolita fashion. the protagonist shows her dedication to guilt tripping her father for more extravagant clothes, but also inspired by the hedonistic lives of those in the 18th century who were part of the rococo movement, who valued fashion and lived luxurious lives. it shows how the aesthetic is less of a casual dress, and more of a life ambition and a really unrealistic hobby. the two characters dynamic, one a girl called momoko, a girl who appears really feminine and sweet on the outside, but inside being quite avoidant of other humans, kinda dismissing the idea of love or connection, she doesn’t have many friends and kinda isolates herself from the rest of the human population. i love how her personality really contradicts her appearance, and in many ways her character felts a little relatable to me. the other protagonist, ichigo, feels like the complete opposite, she’s a biker who really loud and fierce using fights or spitting as a way to hide her inner vulnerability. both characters feel very different, and that’s the reason this works so well. both characters have electric chemistry, and while they don’t particularly have a traditional romantic story, it’s more about female-bonding, also with some obvious queer-coded undertones which i also loved. the narrative of two juxtaposing characters is truly an interesting one, and not only that but it’s just seems like such a good spirit, showing rejection of societal expectations, acceptance of self and also criticism of consumerism. kamikaze girls is one in a billion, and i’d happily rewatch this 1000 times.
