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Starring
:
Juri
Ueno
Yuta
Hiraoka
Naoto
Takenaka
Yuika
Motokariya
Yukari
Toshima
Shihori
Kanjiya
Kei
Tani
Writer
:
Junko
Yaguchi
Shinobu Yaguchi
Producer
:
Shintaro
Horikawa
Daisuke
Sekiguchi
Director
:
Shinobu
Yaguchi
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SWING
GIRLS (2004)
A.K.A.
- Girls Meet Jazz!!!
Reviewed
by Andrew Saroch
Shinobu
Yaguchi's 'Swing Girls' was a hit in its native Japan and
subsequently throughout Asia during 2005, accruing quite a
reputation along the way. With it's recent release on DVD, a
whole new audience is able to judge whether this is just
another example of gimmicky commercialism or a production
deserving of its financial rewards.
Bored
and agitated by the summer heat, Japanese schoolgirl Tomoko
(Ueno) peers out of the window and observes the cosseted
school brass band leaving for another exciting gig. When she
then observes their substantial lunches arriving shortly after
they have left, she decides that this might be perfect
opportunity to skip class under the pretence of helping her
fellow students. Tomoko and her classmates jump on the train
with the lunches and intend to get to the performance as soon
as possible, a noble goal that is scuppered when they eat one
of the meals and miss their stop. Tomoko and co. finally get
the food to the starving musicians, but are blissfully unaware
of the effect that the long, arid journey has had on the
provisions. Every member of the brass band - bar the hopeless
cymbal player Nakamura - is struck with a vicious strain of
food poisoning and are therefore disbanded.
Nakamura
is wise to why the food was in such a condition though and
blackmails Tomoko and her friends into forming a new band to
replace his fallen comrades. Despite initially using their new
assignment as merely an excuse to skip other, more tiresome
classes, Tomoko begins to enjoy the her role in the band
despite their obvious lack of ability. This becomes even more
evident when the brass band return to action and their
deputies are sent packing, with Tomoko particularly
heart-broken by the turn of events. However, she is determined
to start her own band and enlists the help of Nakamura, two
moody rock chicks and the prodigious talents of shy schoolgirl
Sekiguchi to realise her dream.
'Swing
Girls' is an example of how a life-affirming zeal can
transcend a very well-worn storyline. Director Shinobu Yaguchi
is very well aware that the idea of misfits trying to form a
band is nearly as old as cinema itself and so devotes the
running time to creating empathetic characters and a emollient
ambience. The resulting comedy is a delight from start to
finish, pushing its obvious clichés to the background so that
the sheer ebullience of this production can remain the focus.
As
with so many comedies that have looked at the evolution of a
band, much of the joy is derived from seeing the awkward
personalities gradually developing their skills, proving their
critics wrong and ultimately being vindicated in the final
reel. 'Swing Girls' recognises that there's little point
deviating from a winning formula and so sticks to it, adding a
few twists and turns along the way that befit a different
cultural perspective. Added to this though is a welcome dose
of Japanese quirkiness and eccentricity, a beguiling mixture
of innocence and zaniness that has always been the bastion of
Asian cinema at its very best. Naturally the sight of these
petite Japanese schoolgirls playing big band jazz is a glaring
irony played for laughs, but there is so much more besides.
From the love/hate relationship between Tomoko and Nakamura to
a glorious tableau montage featuring a wild boar (?), 'Swing
Girls' is determined to use its local flavours to spice the
narrative up. Yaguchi plays on the social strata inherent
within Japanese youth culture to generate a few laughs while
also using the image of jazz as an example of elitism to add
to some later merriment. All of these elements add up to the
kind of film that, while proudly Japanese in tone, is sure to
put a smile on the faces of viewers from all over the world.
With
a wonderful, toe-tapping soundtrack, a gallery of amiable
characters and a gutsy energy, 'Swing Girls' is a resounding
success. While the term 'feel-good movie' is almost a curse to
bestow upon a film, this truly is a production that will leave
most viewers grinning from ear-to-ear and humming along to the
melodies. You don't need to know your Glen Miller from your
Eric Dolphy to enjoy this delightful Japanese gem.
Rating:
 
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