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All About Lily Chou-Chou (2002)
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Reviews Counted:38
Fresh:25
Rotten:13
Average Rating:6.7/10
Theatrical Release:Jul 12, 2002 Limited
Synopsis: 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... 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 colors provide a unique, private, happy ending. [More]
Starring: Hayato Ichihara, Shugo Oshinari, Yuu Aoi, Aymi Ito
Starring: Hayato Ichihara, Shugo Oshinari, Yuu Aoi, Aymi Ito, Takao Osawa, Miwako Ichikawa, Izumi Inamori
Director: Shunji Iwai
Director: Shunji Iwai
Screenwriter: Shunji Iwai
Producer: Koko Maeda
Studio: Cowboy Pictures
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Reviews for All About Lily Chou-Chou
For all of its insights into the dream world of teen life, and its electronic expression through cyber culture, the film gives no quarter to anyone seeking to pull a cohesive story out of its 2 1/2-hour running time.
The gutsy film didn't help itself by making it so difficult to follow the story and by being so morose.
This movie is maddening. It conveys a simple message in a visual style that is willfully overwrought.
One thing is for sure: This movie does not tell you a whole lot about Lily Chou-Chou.
Once you get into its rhythm ... the movie becomes a heady experience.
I'm not sure All About Lily Chou-Chou made sense in my head, but it made sense in my heart.
Confusion is one of my least favourite emotions, especially when I have to put up with 146 minutes of it.
A difficult, absorbing film that manages to convey more substance despite its repetitions and inconsistencies than do most films than are far more pointed and clear.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 66% 66% | Public Enemies |
| 83% 83% | Harry Potter and the H… |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 75% 75% | Julie & Julia |
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 90% 90% | District 9 |
| 86% 86% | 500 Days of Summer |
| 63% 63% | Extract |
| 06% 06% | All About Steve |
| 78% 78% | It Might Get Loud |
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