Institute of Contemporary Arts

Lis Rhodes: Dissonance and Disturbance 25 January 2012 - 25 March 2012
All About Lily Chou Chou, Dir Shunji Iwai, Japan 2002
All About Lily Chou Chou, Dir Shunji Iwai, Japan 2002

All About Lily Chou Chou

An electrified tale of teen alienation within Japan's pervasive pop/cyber culture.

 

Life isn't easy for a group of high school kids growing up absurd in Japan's pervasive pop/cyber culture. As they negotiate teen badlands- school bullies, parents from another planet, lurid snapshots of sex and death- these everyday rebels without a cause seek sanctuary, even salvation, through pop star saviour Lily Chou-Chou, embracing her sad, dreamy songs and sharing their fears and secrets in Lilyholic chat rooms. Immersed in the speed of everyday troubles, their lives inevitably climax in a fatal collision between real and virtual identities, a final logging-off from innocence. Written by Sujit R. Varma

 

Certificate: UK:15

Key cast / credits: Dir / Writer: Shunji Iwai

Cast: Hayato Ichihara, Shûgo Oshinari, Ayumi Ito

Running time: 146 mins

Release date: 30 August 2002 (UK)

Country: Japan

Language: Japanese

Format available: 35mm/digi

 

"Much of All About Lilly Chou-Chou is mesmerizing: some of its plaintiveness could make you weep" Elvis Mitchell, New York Times