Iwai reminds us of that when an elderly lady is caught silently singing along to one of Lily’s tunes.
Yet the extraordinary respect and obsession with music is not only for teens. Lily Chou-Chou offers an easy way out – even if only momentarily – from the cruel failures in communication and the hypocritical society. Even the toughest find their much needed moments of privacy and fragility when they listen to her emotional songs. Her dreamy, Björk-like music enthralls the characters who are looking for an exit and it also dominates the beautiful soundtrack of the film.
The film’s title comes from a mystical, fictional pop singer who has a dedicated and slightly deranged group of fans. Where these boys and girls truly find their salvation is in music. In such a hopeless situation, the characters try their hardest to find salvation – even from their worst bullies and might even become a bully in the process. At best they offer shallow help that only avoids the main problem. Teachers are ignorant of bullying even in the most severe cases. At school teachers just act friendly with the students instead of trying to solve what is worrying them and making them fall apart. When the kids do come in their way they react angrily instead of trying to understand what is happening. Families are broken and jobs are lost – no attention is given to the offspring who are allowed to do as they please. Parents are more concerned about their own health and work. The adults are imprisoned in their own lives and they keep a certain distance to the youth. However, gradually it becomes why it is so. Yes, they do make bad choices and do bad things to each other on their own. However, what is scary and honest about the film is that things like these can happen in real life and for a few they do happen for real. Crime, prostitution and death are not necessarily a part in the lives of every teenager these days. It would most likely be a naive exaggeration to say that the film is a completely honest portrayal of what kids experience these days. Two high school students, Hoshino and Hajime, find themselves in the darkest pits of life after their wild and careless holiday trip in Okinawa. Despite not specifically dealing with school shootings its depiction of contemporary youth explores the reasons behind the extreme nature of teenagers. In a time when even school shootings are common, Shunji Iwai’s All About Lily Chou-Chou is topical.
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