scheevers-50200 Although not quite on the same level as another coming of age Japanese teen musical Swing Girls (2004), Linda Linda Linda still has that kooky charm and punk rock vibe that makes it worthwhile checking it out.Nothing major happens, no big love drama or major fall outs in this film or bullies trying to stop them, and that's refreshing to say the least. For me this probably has the beautiful Bae Doona;s best performance to date (I might slightly give the nod to A Girl At My Door but this film runs it close). She steals the film, as the kooky exchange Korean student turn front woman, to think she was 26 at the time of this film and a bit older then the other three female leads but she makes you believe she's a teenage girl. The other three members of the band are very good, especially Aki Maeda (Battle Royale) as the drummer. But none come close to topping Bae Doona. The ending has a bittersweet feel to it, as some else mentioned in their review that it's the last significant thing that they probably do. With shots of empty corridors and grounds of the school, it's kind of eerie in a strange way. Also big up the music of the Blue Hearts, you end up humming Linda, Linda for weeks after hearing it.I did have some problems with it. I did have some trouble with the pacing and I felt a few scenes could have been trimmed to make a tighter film. But overall it's nit picking as this film has it's heart in the right place, plus Bae Doona stealing the show. Well worth checking out.

john_hugo I speak neither Japanese nor Korean and had to use English subtitles, but this is one of my all time favorite films. The main plot is basically 4 high school girls trying to put a band together in just a few days for a school festival. One band member had dropped out at the last minute and another broke her finger. So they are hard pressed to replace them and get going. The film carefully steers away from all the usual clichés and focuses on very believable situations skillfully acted by 4 adorable young ladies. Doona Bae steels the show as a shy quirky Korean exchange student, who rarely understands what everybody is saying, and yet is the lead singer. There is no foul language, sex or even a real antagonist. Linda Linda Linda is lighthearted, funny and simply charming. The title song of the same name has such a catchy hook, that everybody I know, who has seen the movie can't get the tune out of their head. Treat yourself to this rare gem.

YNOTswim "Linda Linda Linda" is a high school drama which bores me, because I can't make the connection with either the story nor the presentation of the film.There is a school festival at a local Japanese high school, and one of the female student rock band can no longer play because one of its member broke her finger. What to do? They recruited a Korean exchange student Son to be the lead singer to sing Blue Hearts's signature song "Linda Linda Linda." They have to practice day and night because there are only three days left before the festival and Son's Japanese is not very good.It might not sound much in this story, because indeed there is not much. If you went to a high school in Japan, I am sure that you would love this film and you can identify with the characters in the film and bring out so much nostalgia from you. But I didn't have that experience nor am I a Korean exchange student, so when the film doesn't make much effort to get me involved with the story emotionally, I start to yawn. I was bored being a bystander. The editing was sloppy as well in my opinion. It seems to me that the filmmaker doesn't want to cut anything shoot on films. So many scenes are randomly put together without a purpose, especially lacking of continuity.While it was fun to see what Japanese high school life might be like, this film is a little too long and less interesting.

ssslithe Saw this yesterday at the London Film Festival, and as a fan of The Blue Hearts, I wasn't disappointed. Four schoolgirls start a covers band so they can play at the school festival, and have to overcome a tight time-limit and personal dramas before they get there.The film is beautifully acted and shot, and totally sweet from start to finish. At two hours it's a tad over-long, but some mesmeric camera-work and subtle humour helps it along nicely. The casting is superb, with every character believable and captivating. And of course the music's fantastic - the title song gets played to death but it's still a cool cover of a great Japanese punk song, and James Iha of Smashing Pumpkins does a brilliant job with the incidental music.I'm so glad this film got an English sub, and considering how quickly the tickets sold out for these two London screenings, a full release would be warmly welcomed. Highly recommended.