Comments on: High on the Ether of Lily Chou-Chou

By: nelo

nelo — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 12:50:11 +0000

This movie is simply brilliant to me. I discovered it by chance, bought it in an imported movie shop becuz i loved the front picture, and when i saw it… woah.
As they say in the movie (on lily´s music) at some point: “it cuts right thru my soul”.
It´s been 7 years since then, and if i haven´t seen it more than a hundred times, i´ve never seen it at all.
I loved the fact that you compared it somehow to FLCL, actually I wrote an essay for my career (studied cinema, if anyone is wondering) about this two works, and also the way you expressed how he catches like little pictures of moments, like that one when they are celebrating the end of the kendo tournament. that makes me cry a lot, even though its actually a rather happy moment. Nostalghia is a powerful thing.
But above it all, i love the way the movie makes you feel love for its characters: you can tell Shunji Iwaii really loved those kids, he understood them and wanted to take care of them, to make a better world for them.
Once again, art reveals itself as an uninterested form of love.
Cool ^_______________^

By: Martin

Martin — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 17:13:40 +0000

@bateszi: the irony that these two lads are still friends in some ways in that they share a love for Lily’s music, yet don’t realise this and continue to dislike each other offline, really hit me. It shows both the good and bad of online fandom, really. It’s certainly a story that sticks with you.

@Orion: if you get along with non-linear narratives and that imagery-reliant, dialogue-lite approach, I’m sure this film is Relevant To Your Interests. I think that’s why it was so powerful to me, despite the story being so muddled. The feelings come across loud and clear, and that’s why it works so well. I really recommend it!

@ETERNAL: it’s actually quite similar to the approach Anno used in Shiki Jitsu…oddly enough, the lead actor in that is none other than the director of this one! He’s very Anno-influenced but it’s more like a cinematic impressionism of sorts, rather than Anno’s quirkiness. His live-action stuff has yet to wow me as much as his animated work, ironically. Eccentric is the right word (and I still have Cutie Honey on my to-watch shelf too!).

By: ETERNAL

ETERNAL — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 02:47:00 +0000

Ah, this sounds good. Your description of it makes me want to sigh contentedly and contemplate the nature of the universe, but for now I’ll just bookmark it so that I don’t forget. I only started watching Japanese live-action movies recently, starting with Anno’s eccentric Shiki-Jitsu, but I’ll definitely get to this one at some point.

By: 0rion

0rion — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 00:13:29 +0000

“Between the shifts in time there are some poignant vignettes of good times and bad; it’s like some sort of dreamlike scrapbook of memories and emotions where the pages are all mixed up. It’s a gorgeous looking film.”

That sounds like exactly the kind of thing I could get into. I’ll have to add this to the queue and check it out when I get a chance.

I love how Japanese cinema, especially the indie stuff, has such a strong emphasis on developing themes visually and musically that in western cinema might be handled through dialogue. You see the same theme in Japanese commercials. They tend to eschew factual claims and numbers in favor of ambience, vibe, creating a “positive feeling” about the product.

It says a lot about the difference between east and west. While both certainly have their merits, I really like the Japanese style that relies more on artistry and creating a feeling than expositing a story in more definitive terms.

By: bateszi

bateszi — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 21:45:56 +0000

All About Lily Chou-Chou remains a highly influential film for me; one that I still think about from time to time. This whole idea of the ‘ether’ and the way people use it as a conduit to communicate their feelings is obviously very close to the bone, given we’re bloggers and everything. The means to express ourselves online via media like anime is a great release, but at the same time, it can feel like a shame, because the internet is Anonymous, so it can be like talking into a great black hole of superficiality. The two main characters love Lily Chou-Chou, but only admit it to online; offline, they can’t communicate; they’re enemies. It’s so tragic because it probably happens all the time. I know I probably don’t broadcast the fact I’m an anime fan, so I’ve probably missed out on meeting some kindred spirits, too. Such is life! This is a wonderful film.