This is actually a fairly common portrayal/theme in Japanese youth arthouse films (arthouse about youth, not for youth). Nicely written, I think you nailed down the most immediate important aspect of the film. For anyone that enjoyed this movie, please watch Iwai's other titles too! I really like Swallowtail Butterfly*, Vam pire and his recent A Bride for Rip Van Wink*le. I have a lot more to say about this movie, which I recommend to EVERYONE, specially those interested in Internet culture, Asian cinema (Iwai is, after all, one of the creators of the Japanese New New Wave) and music and its connection to the soul and psyche.
Children abandoned by their tutors, with their only solace being idol worship and a mutual interaction that becomes an anarchic abuse of power. Instead of punishing the youngsters, Iwai makes it clear that we can't fully blame them for being a dysfunctional generation: "baby-boomers" have been negligent teachers and irresponsible caretakers. It is no surprise that the two female characters are raped or forced into prostitution by a male student whose family is destroyed after the collapse of the economy.
In the world of All About Lily Chou-Chou, adults are almost non-existent, and the power dynamics inherited from greedy and conservative parents are carried out by their children: sexism and classism are heavily present in the work. Since Ôshima, some filmmakes have been actively fighting against that toxic ideal built around the concept of nuclear family. Japan is very, very conservative about social and familiar structures. The sole responsible for failed generations and troubled youth is the previous generation.Alienated kids that, without the support that both the singer and her fanbase offers would have long commited suicide, grow strong by bonding online, even if the bonding is with their real life mortal enemies. But in* All About Lily Chou-Cho*u, Iwai decides to show us the glorious part of online forums and Internet. Traditionally, the portrayal of cyber culture and social media in cinema has been extremely negative, showing how it "dehuminizes" and deteriorates relationships. Today's youth is irreversibly "techno-fetishist", and that IS NOT completely bad.To them, it is the ether that keeps them alive and heals them after being emotionally wounded, concepts also present in Lily's dreamy lyrics.īoth elements, apart from being beautifully crafted and grandiloquent, succeed in materializing what Iwai wants us to elarn from the movie. The messages involve students talking about how only Lily has the ether, a core concept of the movie.
#ETHER TUNE FROM ALL ABOUT LILY CHOU CHOU MOVIE#
I'll clarify: the two biggest aesthetic elements that make the movie a standout are the original soundtrack (made by Lily Chou-Chou, a fictional yet real pop singer inspired by Björk and Chungking Express' Faye Wong) and the web messages that Iwai represents by showing them in a full black screen (some directly extracted from a online forum dedicated to the light novel that the director released just before the film). but, for me, all of the splendour this movie has resides in the way it conveys ethical statements via aesthetical design. Obviously, the film, released in 2001, has many characteristics to discuss: characters, plot, soundtrack, colour scheme. Since I wrote a medium-sized essay/article in my native tongue (Spanish, I can share it with anyone interested in it) I'd like to talk with you guys about this movie, specially after seeing it the r/truefilm canon! Anyone that knows me is aware of my devotion towards Shunji Iwai, the person behind the masterpiece All About Lily Chou-Chou.