Review of All About Lily Chou-Chou (2001) by Alex Geo — 07 Sep 2008

Was I inspired by the haunting visuals and music or just simply falling asleep trying to stay focused? The two and a half hour run time of this movie makes it drag on and on, however the overall themes and message were interesting enough.

The visuals combine beautifully with "Lily's" music, while detailing the bullying and angst of adolescent Japanese culture. Two friends drift apart, while Hasumi finds solace in Lily's music and Hoshino just becomes more and more of a bully.

The film does drift here and there like the music and visuals, it was hard to follow the plot at times and characters began blurring together for an overarching theme. Then again maybe that was the whole point of this movie, the floating feeling of the ether.

If you can stay motivated to watch the angst for 2.5 hours that is... Not unenjoyable but could be tightened up.