KAMIKAZE GIRLS (Japan, 2004)
New York Premiere
100 minutes, 35 mm, in Japanese with English subtitles
Directed by: Tetsuya Nakashima
Starring: Kyoko Fukada, Anna Tsuchiya, Hiroyuki Miyasako, Kirin Kiki

“Stylistically, ‘Kamikaze’ outdoes Tarantino at his own flamboyant game…a touching tale of friendship that is too cool to let its street-wise facade drop for even one sentimental minute…”

- Andrew Sun, Hollywood Reporter

Meet Momoko: a devotee of the Lolita style of fashion, her every outfit encrusted with frills, lace trim, petticoats and embroidery. She wouldn't dream of leaving her house without being fully armored in fluffy skirts, pink bonnets, and a delicate parasol. She wishes she lived in 18th century France, or anywhere, really, rather than the provincial cow town Ibaragi where she’s currently trapped.

Meet Ichigo: a biker chick who rides a 50 cc moped and takes every opportunity to spit. She snarls at the color pink, hates sentiment, worships the legendary grrl bike gang leader, Himiko, and is also hopelessly trapped in Ibaragi.

Momoko and Ichigo meet, and it’s mutual loathing at first sight. Momoko is cold and precious, Ichigo is loud and tacky. But the only way they can survive the stares and taunts of the style-less zombies who populate Ibaragi is to demonstrate solidarity in the face of conformity, and form an alliance.

A surprise hit in Japan, Kamikaze Girls unfolds like an exploding pinata, showering the audience with technicolored candy as director Tetsuya Nakashima unleashes a howling typhoon of animation, freaky digital effects, sight gags, radioactive colors, super-stupid hairstyles and bizarre narrative tangents. This kind of visual extravagance would become his trademark in years to come, but he’d never again make a movie quite this warm-hearted and caring. Paced at warp speed, Kamikaze Girls is a comedy cluster bomb delivering maximum disgust for off-the-rack clothing, conformity and gross men while being an ode to female friendship. It’s an anthem of liberation for those who’d rather die than shop at Walmart.