Hiromi_X

Linda Linda Linda, a Japanese high school girl band movie, is adorable and endearing for all the right reasons. The concept "Japanese high school girl band movie" could go in really bad directions, but this one doesn't. It's lighthearted and fun, and both an homage to The Blue Hearts, a Japanese punk-pop band that was huge in the 80s -- their most popular song was the titular "Linda Linda Linda" -- and a reminder to (the Japanese) audience of their own high school years. The characters and atmosphere are beautifully developed. Watching it was like experiencing someone else's nostalgia. The camera lingers over people and how they fit into their places.

It takes place during the girls' high school culture festival, which is something that all Japanese schools do during the fall of each year. It generally lasts three days or so, and all the students, their families, and guests from the community participate. Each homeroom plans an activity like running a food booth (crepes and yakisoba always feature prominently) or, like one homeroom in the movie, plans an activity like a haunted house (Japanese high school students are assigned a homeroom and a homeroom teacher in their first year, and they remain in that group for all three years of high school).

Three days before the festival, the girl band loses their guitarist from a hand injury and their singer she and Kei, the keyboardist, has a falling-out. Unable to perform original songs, they decide to cover songs by The Blue Hearts. Kei is forced to play guitar, but they still lack a lead singer, so while hanging out glum and at a loss, they and decide to recruit the first person they see walking by. That person turns out to be Son, a Korean exchange student.

Before anyone groans, she isn't relegated to an ignominious Long Duck Dong type of role. Instead, like all the girls in the band, she's meant to embody a youthful, "give it all you got," "Ganbare!," "Faito!" spirit. Will she learn the Japanese songs in time? Will Kei be able to play the guitar? Will Kyoko, the drummer, express her feelings to Kazuya, a boy in her homeroom? There is, of course, a tense "will they make it?" scramble to make their set during the festival and a dramatic payoff, but it's a joyful one:

Watching the movie was very natsukashii (nostalgic). Japan has a unique lush greenness even in areas that aren't tropical. The cramped tatami rooms, even the mold that you frequently see growing on buildings in places where water runs down, all that reminded me of my years there.

Check it out, it's available on Netflix.