KAMIKAZE GIRLS

Japan, 2004, 102 minutes, Colour.
Directed by Tetsuya Nakashima.

Kamikaze Girls and Memories of Matsuko are getting western release so that it is possible to see Nakashima as an idiosyncratic director with a personal style. It is surreal, to say the least. His stories are a blend of the real and the surreal and he favours bright colours, imagination and dreams.

This is the story of a young girl who tells us that she would prefer to have lived in 18th century Versailles and enjoyed the rococo style, especially of clothes. This is, in fact, how she lives and dresses, sewing patterns with expertise and in demand for her work, though lacking in self-confidence. She encounters a young bikie woman and they become friends, even saving her from a beating (where she turns into a character from Japanese manga traditions).

With the focus on the sweetness and light optimism of the central character, the film is reminiscent of the spirit of Legally Blonde. But then there are the gangs to balance the sweetness.