Linda Linda Linda

As I decided when I began this blog, I'd try to write about more than simply anime and manga. That being the case, I now have a new film that I just came back from seeing not too long ago. One of the stops on the very limited run of the film Linda Linda Linda is the Brattle Theatre in Harvard Sq. On a whim I learned about the screening, but very quickly did my homework by reading the synopsis on the Brattle's homepage, as well as the English site for the film. Within a matter of moments I resigned myself to taking a trip down the Red Line to go see it. I was not disappointed at all.

Linda Linda Linda opens up with a shot of a random Japanese school girl filming a small documentary about the high school festival. She declares that these students will never grow up, and they will never forget themselves at this time. It's an opening that puts the rest of the film into perspective. For those of us who have lived through high school and moved past it, we already know how easily so much of it is left behind us, we want to tell the girl the harsh truth, but at the same time, know that we will either not believed, or will only crush spirits.

The film follows four high school girls who want to play a few songs in the rock festival portion of their high school's annual festival. With the loss of two members, Kyoko, Kei, and Nozomi are forced to re-organize their plans for performance and end up asking a Korean exchange student, Son, to join them as their vocalist. Hilarity ensues as the four attempt to learn to perform three songs by the group, The Blue Hearts, a group sometimes referred to as "the Japanese Ramones". (One of the best tongue-in-cheek moments of the film is a quick shot of the Ramones themselves.) Among the songs chosen is the song "Linda Linda" from which the film gets its name. Take it from me, it's a song that gets stuck in your head very easily, but you're quite glad it's there.

Some of the most amusing moments come from Son's interaction with people as she struggles to communicate. As a person who's spent time in Japan with little Japanese language ability, these scenes are particularly amusing. Son's dealing with one boy, Macky, as he struggles to profess love for her in Korean as she tries to politely decline in Japanese is one of best scenes of the film. The awkwardness of the spontaneous and somewhat inappropriate situation is made even more comical by the language barriers.

For only three days of plot, the story of Linda Linda Linda unfolds incredibly well. The pace is neither rushed, not stagnant. In some way, the declaration that these students will never grow up is true. The life ahead of them barely matters (if at all) , what is important is the right-now and the festival.

I cannot help but amused to some extent by this film in a different way. The 12th episode of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya heavily parodies, the plot from Linda Linda Linda. Seeing the source now, I have a greater appreciation for both. I need to sit down and re-watch the episode now.
For those of you in the Boston area, do yourself a favor. If you can fit it into your schedule; sometime between now and its last show at the Brattle on Jan. 18th, go see Linda Linda Linda and give yourself a good laugh.