Review of Strawberry Shortcakes (2006) by Kay P — 14 Nov 2010

Strawberry Shortcakes follows the lives of four women as they seek love and vaguely contemplate "God". Satoko is the childlike, purportedly ugly telephone operator of a prostitution service. Akiyo is one of the prostitutes in its employ, but what she really longs for is the love of her best friend, who has no clue about her work or her adoration for him. Chihiro is a pretty secretary who tries far too hard to please in her desperation to be loved and married, resulting in a tendency to have sex with men who care nothing for her. Chihiro's roommate Toko is a solitary artist who has been commissioned to draw her personal interpretation of God for a book cover.

There's a vein of tragedy running through each of the women's lives. The film opens on an adolescent girl in her pajamas (a younger Satoko) being dragged down the street by an older guy decked out in casual punk style. She clings to his ankle, crying and begging for him to take her back. Eventually he pauses, sneers, "Shut up," and shakes her off like a dog. Satoko says that after that day she felt she could endure anything, and it might be so because she seems to be the happiest of the four for most of the rest of the film.

Strawberry Shortcakes is delicate, and, at times, difficult to watch. However, what it has to say about life, love, personal growth, luck, and making one's own destiny should not be dismissed. The women seem real and even a little too human, with the pleasant and ugly sides of their lives equally on display. The film's ultimate lingering emotion, I think, is one of hope.