Review of All About Lily Chou-Chou (2001) by Mark C — 04 Oct 2010

For many teenagers escapism is not a pastime, it is a necessity. Iwai's visuals shift rhythmically between various shades of society and solitude, emoting hope and hopelessness (sometimes all at once).

Lily Chou Chou's angelic music haunts the lives of Yuichi and his classmates, constantly hinting at an ethereal world beyond the hell of their reality. The film's greatest irony is that although they unite through the anonymity of cyberspace to celebrate her, they destroy each other at school.

Ichihara's almost-mute performance as the tormented Yuichi is heartbreaking. In-fact, the entire cast is excellent, though another special mention must go to Oshinari as Hoshino, whose transformation from victim to victimizer is devastating.

As a piece of art All About Lily Chou Chou is divinely bleak. As a social commentary it is painfully accurate. Few films have resonated with me more than this. The image of Yuichi standing alone in a field with his discman will never leave me.