Lily Chou Chou of the title is a fictional iconic pop star who offers some hope for the teen lead characters living in a small rural Japanese town. Selection at the recent Toronto International Film Festival and this month's New York Film Festival should raise the film's profile and gather essential critical momentum outside its homeland. A quietly devastating, often hauntingly beautiful portrait of troubled youth, it proves that Iwai - who achieved some international recognition with Love Letter in 1995 and April Story in 1998, is one of Japan's leading talents and boldest voices.
But it's a risk which could pay off for arthouse specialists, because All About Lily Chou Chou is one of those visceral movie experiences which will generate terrific reviews and reams of publicity. Running close to two-and-a-half hours, the film represents a challenging sell for distributors. If you thought Tim Blake Nelson's O was an edgy high school movie, take a look at Shunji Iwai's latest film All About Lily Chou Chou - a harrowing portrait of contemporary teenagers in a Japanese school where casual violence, pimping, rape and murder are the expressions of a bottomless despair with existence.
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