Linda Linda Linda
First of all, my very first impression of this film was “Oh my, the school in this film look exactly like in anime!” Silly, isn’t it? But this is shows how many anime I have seen in my life while it’s my first time watching a japanese film in the high school setting, and I feel like i recognize everything: The windows from the classroom opening to the hallways, the blue school swimsuits, the tables arranged in teacher’s room with books separating the different desks etc. etc. It made me think of Gus van Sant’s “Elephant” that I have watched in a movie theater with a friend who went to high school in the US – and she told me that those long hallways that were almost a leitmotiv of the film were actually very common in american schools.
Actually I have been contemplating about writing this blog post, because I actually have watched “Le Mépris” first – and of course it’s a film that cannot be left without some comments for too long, it’s one of Godard’s highlights after all.
However, when I watched this video on youtube, I felt a strong urge to write about it. In fact, the video shows very clearly what I have been thinking immediately when the girls got on stage: “This scene looks like episode 12 from Haruhi!” The parallels are very clear – cinematography, atmosphere and especially the storyline are similar: In both cases, two band members have dropped out shortly before the gig, the main characters and new singers of the band (Son and Haruhi) were ‘outsiders’ and became now accepted etc. etc. The most important similarity in my opinion however are the songs: Sure, it’s cheesy j-pop. But in these scenes, both songs come off as much better and more powerful than they normally are and of course, in these kinds of scenes a good song is pivotal. I wonder if this actually is a coincidence or if the animation of Haruhi is actually an hommage to the movie. Hmm.
I wish the anime of of Beck would had at least one scene with animation and a song that has such as impact. I blame both the director and the lack of money.
Another noteable thing about this movie is that lots of people call it “slice of life”, which is absolutely exact. But, is this name really popular or well-known out of the anime/mangasphere? Although this is an english term, I seriously doubt it, although the Wikipedia article defines it correctly and without specifications to the japanese variant. Fact is, “slice of life” in manga/anime has nothing to do with naturalism and is not just cut-out of life as the Wikipedia article suggests – it’s often with somewhat fantastic elements and not realistic characters at all. More than that, naturalistic stories depicts the horrors of life and society to a degree that it can feel somewhat disgusting. Slice of life à la japanese however, nearly always depicts a somewhat beautiful, much more harmonic world and always leaves out some elements that are important to ‘life’ such as sex (Honey & Clover) or families (Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou) or work. “Linda Linda Linda” is quite realistic of course, and the setting is believable, but the story of a korean girl finding friends over 3 days is quite far from realistic after all.
That’s why I suspect that everyone who defends the boredom that a lot of people have reproached to this film are actually fans of the slice of life genre in manga and anime already. I am part of those people too, and I believe this is one of the reasons why I did not feel bored while watching the film at all. It’s true that “nothing happens”, but it doesn’t matter, actually that is the whole purpose of the film: It’s depicting the life of four girls in their usual school environment and nothing more.
Personally I have yet to read or watch a slice of life that I have found boring (unless it’s also a sports or yaoi series) – while I tend to find slow-paced manga, anime and movies boring when they are not slice of life. As I mentioned, “Linda Linda Linda” is not exception. With quite a highlight at the end, this film even has a climax and suitable end (which a slice of life not necessarily has). What struck me the most however is… the school girl uniforms. Aaaaah! I want exactly the same! These uniforms are just so perfect. They make you look fatter, it’s true, but it’s just the kind of style I like. I love these beige sleeveless pullovers with dark blue skirts, and the elegant black bow just tops it. I have a skirt, so maybe I should buy a beige pullover and try to find a bow like that? XD
The official website of the american DVD release quotes a review that compares “Linda Linda Linda” with Jarmusch and Kaurismäki. What idiocy – I do see where they come from, but there is no way this could be comparable after all. “Linda Linda Linda” is a sweet slice of life devoid of all possible pretentiousness and artsiness – and as such, I love it.
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