All About Lily Chou-Chou

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All About Lily Chou-Chou

Released Jul 12, 2002

2h 26m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

68%

Tomatometer

40 Reviews

89%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

For kids around the world, music is often the only salvation when the pain and anxiety of teenage life becomes too much to bear. Yuichi (Hayato Ichihara) is in the 8th grade and he worships Lily Chou-Chou, a Bjork-like chanteuse whose epic music is lush and transcendent. Yuichi only lives for Lily Chou-Chou's big Tokyo concert, where the lies and violence can be washed away by the presence of his goddess and her powerful music. But fate has yet another obstacle in store for Lily's devoted fan.

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Empire Magazine

Rated: 4/5

Dec 30, 2006

Full Review

Peter Howell

Toronto Star

For all of its insights into the dream world of teen life, and its electronic expression through cyber culture, the film gives no quarter to anyone seeking to pull a cohesive story out of its 2 1/2-hour running time.

Rated: 3/5

Mar 21, 2003

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

This movie is maddening. It conveys a simple message in a visual style that is willfully overwrought.

Rated: 2/4

Nov 29, 2002

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Panos Kotzathanasis

Asian Movie Pulse

Iwai directs and writes a truly shocking film regarding school alienation and the terrifying cruelty of teenagers that leads to harsh cases of bullying.

Dec 23, 2019

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Jason Gorber

Film Scouts

It is remarkable not for its flamboyance but for its stark honesty, captivating visual flair, and a style of filmmaking that differs from anything on this side of the Pacific.

Rated: A-

Jun 21, 2007

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Film Threat

Rated: 4/5

Dec 6, 2005

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Starry N

This was the first Japanese film I ever watched, and it has vividly stuck with me for years.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/14/25

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Fe Ann Joyce L

It's boring. I watched it as I read somewhere it was her one of the enjoyed film. I couldn't connect at it at all. Definitely not my cup of tea.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

01/29/25

Full Review

Paisley

In my opinion, it's a life changing film. It depends on the person, and when you watch it. The beautiful visuals, eerily alluring soundtracks and realistically tragic youth struggles come together to create something I want to remember for the rest of my life. This movie is the type of stuff that messes you up in the good way. I watched this in a really dark period of my life, and it really impacts how I viewed it. It puts you in a new perspective. The pure youth being corrupted by the experience of life is really what I get from this. Watching teens be molded by their environment, watching some of them fall apart in a beautifully heart-wrenching way. It depends on perspective, a very weird and self-interpretation type of film. It's very pretty, though.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/23/24

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reka !

underground and pretty dead. love it

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

11/05/23

Full Review

BTS L

This movie made me cry so much. I really felt bad for the girl. Very good made movie 👍

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

10/05/23

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Stefan I

Such beautiful cinematography and interesting story.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/11/22

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Shunji Iwai

Director

Shûgo Oshinari

Shusuke Hoshino

Ayumi Ito

Yoko Kuno

Yû Aoi

Shiori Tsuda

Hayato Ichihara

Yûichi Hasumi

Takao Ohsawa

Tabito Takao

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Synopsis

For kids around the world, music is often the only salvation when the pain and anxiety of teenage life becomes too much to bear. Yuichi (Hayato Ichihara) is in the 8th grade and he worships Lily Chou-Chou, a Bjork-like chanteuse whose epic music is lush and transcendent. Yuichi only lives for Lily Chou-Chou's big Tokyo concert, where the lies and violence can be washed away by the presence of his goddess and her powerful music. But fate has yet another obstacle in store for Lily's devoted fan.

Director: Shunji Iwai
Screenwriter: Shunji Iwai
Distributor: Cowboy Pictures
Production Co: Miramax
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 12, 2002, Original
Release Date (Streaming): May 7, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA): $24.8K
Runtime: 2h 26m
Sound Mix: Dolby Stereo, DTS
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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