Shunji Iwai does not quite depict, but rather immerses the viewer in the workings of the cyber generation’s early-teen alienation and angst in 2001’s All About Lily Chou. Our main character Yuichi Hasumi, depressingly lives a quiet, painful life at the mercy of a bully—once his best friend, Hoshino, who spends his time pimping out a girl named Tsuda, stealing and terrorizing other kids. At the center of it all is a never seen, only heard pop idol, Lily Chou Chou, who unites the kids anonymously on a fan message board, where they passionately discuss her music and her connection to the “ether.”
Iwai takes the coming of age pic at an experimental angle complete with elliptical storytelling, a DV and home video visual style and an ethereal, evocative soundtrack—a mix of Bjork-like songs from fictional singer Lily and classical Debussy pieces. The film occasionally forsakes comprehensibility in favor of an overwhelming and unreal atmosphere rendered all the more unsettling by the juxtaposition of gorgeous, reflective scenes of wandering through verdant fields and brutal acts of rape or violence. Scattered throughout the film are flashes of message board postings a la Take Care of My Cat, all leading up to the long-awaited Lily show at the film’s end.
The film may meander and run a bit too long at two and a half hours, especially in an extended flashback that takes up a sizable portion of the second act. Still, despite the time it takes, the film successfully floats about the rough lives of its few complicated main characters and captures them intimately with fine acting all around. Patient and committed viewers will be sucked into Iwai’s weave and find it impossible to forget the film’s haunting music or the moments of raw emotion.
Reviewed by Tarun
