Linda Linda Linda

Plot synopsis:
A group of schoolgirls have formed a band to perform at their high school cultural festival in three days' time, but the guitarist and singer have quit. The remaining members, Kei, Kyoko, and Nozomi, decide to perform covers of Blue Hearts songs, including "Linda Linda", but need a new singer. They ask the first girl that walks by, Son, a Korean exchange student who is not fluent in Japanese, and name their band Paranmaum. The first day ends with all the girls working their hardest to learn their parts. Son practices at a karaoke parlor, and Kyoko talks to her crush, Kazuya.
The next day, the girls begin practicing early at school. When they regroup after school, Kyoko arrives late and they miss their time slot. Kei calls her ex-boyfriend and arranges some practice time in a studio. They leave late at night to return to school, and continue practising through the rest of the night.
By the next morning, Paranmaum are well rehearsed. As school begins, the girls go to their respective places to help out during the festival. Kei practices her guitar parts and talks to her rocker friend Takako. Son is supposed to help with the Japan-Korea culture exchange, but daydreams about the band. Kyoko sells crepes and Nozomi falls asleep on her bass guitar in a classroom.
Kei and Kyoko wake up Nozomi and fetch Son. Son rebuffs a classmate's confession of love. Over dinner at Nozomi's house, the girls persuade Kyoko to talk to her crush Kazuya before the performance the next day. They end the night back at school, practicing until early morning.
On the day of the performance, Paranmaum returns to the studio to practice. Exhausted, they fall asleep. Kei dreams about being celebrated and performing for the Ramones at the Budokan. At the school, the stage managers search for the band, but to no avail; to pass the time, their friends Takako and Moe perform impromptu music. Kei is woken by Kyoko's cellphone when Oe calls to ask where Kyoko is. The band rushes back to school in a taxi. Kyoko meets Kazuya while the band sets up minutes before the performance. Kyoko finally arrives and Paranmaum performs to an excited crowd.

Tags: boring

Review:
This charming little Japanese film will have you singing the Blue Hearts title song over and over.
A group of aspiring teenage girls form a band to perform for the high school rock festival, can they get it together?
Fans of Japanese female bands like Shonen Knife and the 5678s will also dig this film I think.BAE Du-Na (Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance, Take Care of My Cat) as Song wins my vote as the most endearing oddball in this film who wins you over with her big eyes and teenage awkwardness (not to mention a lot of funny misunderstandings because she is a Korean exchange student who speaks little Japanese).
And yet I wouldn't call it a comedy, as the laughs are not really central to the movie.And then there's music, full of raw energy and quite memorable - many in the audience left the theater humming and whistling the title song.I guess the best thing about this film is that it is real, there's nothing contrived or false in it that I could see.
Four schoolgirls start a covers band so they can play at the school festival, and have to overcome a tight time-limit and personal dramas before they get there.The film is beautifully acted and shot, and totally sweet from start to finish.
And of course the music's fantastic - the title song gets played to death but it's still a cool cover of a great Japanese punk song, and James Iha of Smashing Pumpkins does a brilliant job with the incidental music.I'm so glad this film got an English sub, and considering how quickly the tickets sold out for these two London screenings, a full release would be warmly welcomed.
I'm happy to report that the Japanese film Linda Linda Linda, which screened tonight at NYAFF (and was the first film of the festival that I was able to go see at the ImaginAsian theater) is hands-down the best movie I've seen at the festival so far.
An upbeat and joyous film about a high school girls' rock and roll band, it's practically guaranteed to go straight to the heart of anyone who believes in music, and its power to save one's soul.The plot is as straightforward as they come.
Shiba High School is holding their annual Holly Festival complete with a musical talent show, and three friends - drummer Kyoko (Aki Madea, Battle Royale), keyboardist-turned-guitarist Kei (Yu Kasii, Lorelei) and bassist Nozomi (Shiori Sekine, of the real band Base Ball Bear) are struggling to get a band together.
After their previous guitarist injures her finger and has to bow out, they recruit shy Korean exchange student Song (Bae Doo-Na, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance) as their vocalist, and decide to cover three songs by the Clash-esquire 80's J-punk group The Blue Hearts.
After weeks of staying up all night practicing, jamming until the wee hours (not to mention the fact that Song has to learn her lyrics phonetically), they are finally ready to play their music before their teachers and friends.Admittedly, the description above probably makes this movie sound like every other movie about a band, or a sports team, or some kind of sentimental, rah-rah "Eye of the Tiger" pap.
Opening with a MiniDV shot of one girl giving an on-camera interview about the Holly Festival, the movie starts out depicting its characters with shy restraint, gradually revealing more and more about their personalities, foibles, their joys and sorrows, until eventually, they literally start to feel like our friends.
We want to stand up and applaud.I would honestly say that Linda Linda Linda is one of the greatest rock and roll films I've ever seen.
If you are looking for those quick pick-me-up rock'n roll flicks, with heroes/heroines get the girl/boy and fat recording contracts after performing jaw-dropping numbers, overcoming incredible odds, then perhaps this movie is not for you.
It just shows what ordinary teenage high school girls trying to put together a rock band in a few days for a festival would do in those precious few days of their lives.
The latter better describes Nobuhiro Yamashita's Linda Linda Linda, a beautifully constructed study of young love, high school politics, and of course, rock and roll.In preparation of a High School Festival due in three days, band leader Kei (Yu Kashii) forms a group to cover the works of a J-Punk band named The Blue Hearts for the festival.
After some difficulty, the group finds itself their singer; a Korean exchange student named Son (Donna Bae), who only has a basic knowledge of Japanese.
Though after that, the film magically changes itself into a beautifully endearing coming of age drama complete with cute Japanese schoolgirls and blazing punk rock.After the clumsy beginning, Linda Linda Linda does one thing that few films can boast.
Add James Iha's (Smashing Pumpkins) melodic rock soundtrack and covers of the J-Punk band The Blue Hearts, and you get some moments of intense allure (i.e. what I like to call, "mind candy").
She plays the kind of girl that you'd want to befriend, both subdued and full of life at the same time.Bottom Line-This is a beautiful film that encapsulates all the emotions of youth.
The songs are not lip-synced but are actually performed by the talented actress musicians.The plot is simple and can be summarized in a paragraph or two but the strength of the film is not in its story but in its quirky humor, natural conversations, great music, and the small moments that convey the roller coaster existence of high school life.
Four girls attending Shibazaki High School in Japan want to compete at the annual Holly Rock Festival but things are not going their way.
They also pass on Rinko, a vocalist they used in a former band.Since Rinko doesn't want to sing the song they've chosen, they pick the next girl walking by, a Korean exchange student named Son (Bae Du-na) who agrees to sing but without much knowledge of Japanese, rehearsals are a struggle to communicate.
The pace of the film is slow and the girls face challenges but they are real life events, not "movie" problems.
Kei must learn to work within the confines of a group and give up some control and Son has to become comfortable enough with the language to perform.While the story may sound like a teenage soap opera, Linda Linda Linda stays away from cliché and the film is without contrived plot twists or dramatic confrontations with parents (who are mostly non-existent in the film).
i just randomly picked it even if the synopsis didn't seem that interesting...set in japan, its about 4 teenage girls who form a rock band so that they can play a song at their school festival.
Named for a song by legendary Japanese "punks" The Blue Hearts, this film tells the story of four girls who form a band for an end-of-year high school festival.
That being said, it was hugely enjoyable (though probably a good 15 minutes too long), and Bae Doo Na, who plays the gawky Korean exchange student, literally steals the film.
A group of Japanese high school girls are preparing to perform at the School Rock Festival.
Bae Doona stole the show, but the whole band in general had a real quality feel to them, like I was watching a band come to life--not just actresses with instruments.
You will be laughing, going, "awwww" more than once, and loving every second of it--not to mention you may be wanting to start your own band after seeing this movie ^_^ Oh, and the soundtrack is the best I have heard in a long time!
Although not quite on the same level as another coming of age Japanese teen musical Swing Girls (2004), Linda Linda Linda still has that kooky charm and punk rock vibe that makes it worthwhile checking it out.Nothing major happens, no big love drama or major fall outs in this film or bullies trying to stop them, and that's refreshing to say the least.
She steals the film, as the kooky exchange Korean student turn front woman, to think she was 26 at the time of this film and a bit older then the other three female leads but she makes you believe she's a teenage girl.
A few days before they perform at their school's festival, a group of high school girls find themselves in trouble after their lead guitarist broke her finger and the lead singer had a falling out with one of them.
In a whim, they recruit Son (Bae Doona), a Korean exchange student who has no prior performing experience and can speak very little Japanese, to be their vocalist.
And because they have no time to work on original compositions, the girls decide to do covers of the Japanese rock band Blue Hearts including the eponymous song.Essentially a feel-good movie about friendship, crossing language barriers, music, and that point everyone goes through (uh, leaving a major phase of life behind), "Linda Linda Linda" presents the life of four individuals in an innocently amusing manner.
The overall pacing may be slow - the editing doesn't resort to quick cuts and many scenes are simply long takes where the camera remains static, minimal dialog is spoken and instead would rely on the actors' emotions - but coupled with the soundtrack of Smashing Pumpkins alumnus James Iha, Novuhiro Yamashita's lovely direction makes the film consistently droll and bittersweet.Minimal sub-plots are added and the narrative is pretty much straightforward.
A scene showing Son and a male admirer is funny to anyone who can relate, and Son's nonchalant reply to the boy's "I love you" is painfully amusing.However, the movie's main strength is the chemistry among the girls as they struggle to rehearse and form a bond with their new vocalist despite her inability to speak Japanese fluently.
Bae, whom I last saw in the Korean movie The Host, subtly delivers her deadpan humor in a natural way and her skillful interaction with her much younger co-stars is spot-on.Generally, the film is a solid effort.
It's pretty much straightforward in presenting a slice of life of its characters with a plot that's not too interested in veering away from the girls and the music they play together.
The closing film of this year's Japanese Film Festival, I was half expecting it to end with a rousing and wild finale, given its similarities to last year's commercial release Swing Girls, which also set its story with characters involved in putting up a musical performance.
However, it didn't quite live up to expectation, but nonetheless the journey was still pleasing to the eyes (ahem).Unlike Swing Girls where the characters had no idea how to play with the jazz band instruments, the group in Linda Linda Linda have been jamming in their own rock band, so they have some prior experience.
Save for their lead singer, who was hastily recruited, and turned out to be a Korean (you'd recognize her from The Host), from the school's Korea- Japan foreign student exchange programme.So begins the frantic pace of finalizing the composition of the group - lead vocalist Son (Bae Du-Na), drummer Kyoko (Aki Maeda), guitarist Kei (Yu Kashii, last seen in Death Note), and bassist Nozomi (Shiori Sekine), and the independent as well as combined practice and training sessions.
The songs were as catchy as the lyrics were inane (well, if the English subtitles were to be trusted), taken from Japanese pink rock band The Blue Hearts.
Naturally you'll need the element of adversity, and it comes in the form of a lack of venues to practice before their big day performance during the school's rock festival.As per formula, you'll always have the misfits put together and then bonding just in time for their show.
Japanese high school girl rock band story gets better towards the end.
Story told in a documentary-style, about 4 girls at a Japanese high-school campus who start a rock band.
Highlight is the actress who plays the Korean exchange student and lead singer Son. She delivers a few very welcome comedic moments.This almost two hour long movie really takes its time to get to its point.
This film combines a multitude of genres into a delightful romp through the end of a high school year, climaxing in a talents show performance for the ages.
It all revolves around a hastily arranged rock band, featuring four of the girls, who want to perform at a school festival.
These four girls are distinctively etched characters, but despite their individual charms, this is the most boring Japanese film I have ever seen.
"Linda Linda Linda" is a high school drama which bores me, because I can't make the connection with either the story nor the presentation of the film.There is a school festival at a local Japanese high school, and one of the female student rock band can no longer play because one of its member broke her finger.
They recruited a Korean exchange student Son to be the lead singer to sing Blue Hearts's signature song "Linda Linda Linda." They have to practice day and night because there are only three days left before the festival and Son's Japanese is not very good.It might not sound much in this story, because indeed there is not much.
But I didn't have that experience nor am I a Korean exchange student, so when the film doesn't make much effort to get me involved with the story emotionally, I start to yawn.
So many scenes are randomly put together without a purpose, especially lacking of continuity.While it was fun to see what Japanese high school life might be like, this film is a little too long and less interesting..
This is not a film that you can enjoy watching at home, especially with a group of friends, UNLESS you have nothing else to do (or have some kind of fetish for Japanese school girls - that alone, is the reason, I'm sure, the majority find it interesting to watch) There's a few small sub-plots involving some of the band members having a crush with another character, but that really doesn't go anywhere.
The only interesting character was the Korean exchange student (Son played by Du-na Bae).
Aki Maeda (also famous in Battle Royale) is by far the cutest of the entire group, but her character is just two-dimensional, as well as others.The ending was by far the most unsatisfying, as the band just plays "Blue Hearts - Linda Linda" song for the school -- and that was a given from the start of the movie.
I speak neither Japanese nor Korean and had to use English subtitles, but this is one of my all time favorite films.
The main plot is basically 4 high school girls trying to put a band together in just a few days for a school festival.
Linda Linda Linda Drummer Kyoto (Aki Maeda), guitarist Kei (Yu Kashii) and bassist Nozumi (Shiori Sekine) must recruit a new lead singer on short notice for the high-school rock festival.
A Korean exchange student, Son (Doona Bae), is a last-minute pick even though her Japanese is not perfect.
They rehearse, and rehearse, and rehearse night and day until the singer starts singing correctly in Japanese.Almost oversleeping in the rehearsal room before the concert, the exhausted/burnt-out quartet nearly misses its fifteen minutes of fame at this "so-important-end-of-term-rock-festival." In a pouring rain, they make it to the concert at the last minute�everything is last minute in this film!�and the crowd goes wildly hysterical to the title song�one could assume some inspirational song of the director's teenage years.
You don't see a lot of Japanese Rock and Roll movies, that's for sure.
Linda Linda Linda is the tale of a rock group comprised of cute little Japanese students.
If I told you that Disney was making a film about 4 girls starting a band, and the singer was a French exchange student, what you would expect to be the "conflicts" that arise?The lead singer has to overcome stage fright?
The band is late for their performance, and a side-character has to buy them time?*SPOILER ALERT*All of those things happen in this movie.At no point in this film do you have even the slightest fraction of concern that these girls won't be able to accomplish their goal.*THIS ENDS THE SECTION OF SPOILERS*I like Japanese films.
Though the characters will have points in the movie where they do typical Japanese high school things, this is not a "typical day in the life of" movie.
Two days before the school festival, a music band consisting of Kei (Yu Kashii), Kyoko (Aki Maeda), and Nozomi (Shiori Sekine) are without a guitarist and singer as two previous members had to leave the band.
Their vocalist comes in the form of Koren exchange student Son (Du-na Bae), who is still learning the Japanese language.
With the odds against them, each member learns something new about themselves, as they desperately try to learn the Japanese punk rock band The Blue Hearts song: Linda Linda.The most refreshing aspect of the film is easily the story, which is very simple to follow from beginning to end allowing for greater accessibility.
It doesn't follow the usual formula for film involving high-school girls by portraying a life of materialism and sex.
Instead it focuses on four girls growing together as friends who wish to make sure that that had some memories of high-school of good times when they enjoyed themselves.
The tunes from The Smashing Pumpkins and James Iha make for a pleasant listen, but the only music which pumps with strength, are the three songs which the main characters play from The Blue Hearts.Devoid of any offensive material until the final song where the lyrics contain two expletives.Linda Linda Linda is a fun film that suffers mostly from pacing issues, and the factors meant to aid this issue, do not.