Movie Review

Kamikaze Girls (2005)

Reviewed by Scott Brown | Sep 07, 2005

Scott Brown

Scott Brown writes the Hit List for EW and is a frequent contributor to National Public Radio -- he has the tote bag to prove it

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EW's GRADE

B-

Details Limited Release: Sep 09, 2005; With: Kyoko Fukada

HOW MUCH FOR THE VEGETABLE IN THE MIDDLE? Two Japanese misfits hit the (weird) road

Turns out, Japan has its very own New Jersey. Beyond the bounds of swank Tokyo live the ''Yanki,'' suburbanites known for their tracksuits, dyed hair, and tricked-out mopeds. In Kamikaze Girls loner Momoko (actress–pop star Kyôko Fukada) rejects this world for the equally Western-inflected ''Lolita'' subculture, which prizes rococo frills over punk posturing. But when Yanki biker girl Ichigo (pop star-actress Anna Tsuchiya) gets under Momoko's lace bonnet, the two embark on a hyperstylized, supercute female-bonding odyssey, set to a J-pop soundtrack. For the Western viewer, the cultural divide acts as a saccharine filter, and Kamikaze, a cult hit in Japan, becomes a mesmerizing lesson in otherness.

Originally posted Sep 07, 2005 Published in issue #840 Sep 16, 2005 Order article reprints

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