Watch Linda Linda Linda For Free

Just so...so bad

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

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.

Linda Linda Linda Drummer Kyoto (Aki Maeda), guitarist Kei (Yu Kashii) and bassist Nozumi (Shiori Sekine) must recruit a new lead singer on short notice for the high-school rock festival. A Korean exchange student, Son (Doona Bae), is a last-minute pick even though her Japanese is not perfect. They rehearse, and rehearse, and rehearse night and day until the singer starts singing correctly in Japanese.Almost oversleeping in the rehearsal room before the concert, the exhausted/burnt-out quartet nearly misses its fifteen minutes of fame at this "so-important-end-of-term-rock-festival." In a pouring rain, they make it to the concert at the last minute�everything is last minute in this film!�and the crowd goes wildly hysterical to the title song�one could assume some inspirational song of the director's teenage years. The one good thing about Linda Linda Linda is the cinematography. But besides that... Um...According to some sources, Nobuhiro Yamashita made his reputation directing comedies. This film was an attempt at mainstream Japanese film but ends up as a time-consuming exercise about uninteresting characters. Why producers spent their money on a film with no story... write to me if you have the answer. With effort, this reviewer stayed until the end. I noted that some in the Asian audience laughed during scenes. Must have been a private joke because I didn't get it.Linda Linda Linda Directed by Nobuhiro YamashitaWith Aki Maeda, Yu Kashii, Shiori Sekine & Doona BaeRuntime: 114 min

The closing film of this year's Japanese Film Festival, I was half expecting it to end with a rousing and wild finale, given its similarities to last year's commercial release Swing Girls, which also set its story with characters involved in putting up a musical performance. However, it didn't quite live up to expectation, but nonetheless the journey was still pleasing to the eyes (ahem).Unlike Swing Girls where the characters had no idea how to play with the jazz band instruments, the group in Linda Linda Linda have been jamming in their own rock band, so they have some prior experience. Save for their lead singer, who was hastily recruited, and turned out to be a Korean (you'd recognize her from The Host), from the school's Korea- Japan foreign student exchange programme.So begins the frantic pace of finalizing the composition of the group - lead vocalist Son (Bae Du-Na), drummer Kyoko (Aki Maeda), guitarist Kei (Yu Kashii, last seen in Death Note), and bassist Nozomi (Shiori Sekine), and the independent as well as combined practice and training sessions. The songs were as catchy as the lyrics were inane (well, if the English subtitles were to be trusted), taken from Japanese pink rock band The Blue Hearts. Naturally you'll need the element of adversity, and it comes in the form of a lack of venues to practice before their big day performance during the school's rock festival.As per formula, you'll always have the misfits put together and then bonding just in time for their show. It's no different for Linda Linda Linda, as ultimately it's still a feel good movie. It follows the same technique in teasing the audience on the group's performing ability as they improve day by day, in not showing you their performing of the songs in full, and builds up anticipation for that bring-the-house-down finale. However, it lacked certain deftness in resolving the multiple minor subplots (like romance) it opened, preferring to leave them unresolved or open ended. And when the final performance did come on, it's too little too late, with its lack of oomph in delivery, cutting short on the promised 3 song medley. It's a pity though, as the journey to the destination really hinted on a big-bang adrenaline filled ending.

I just saw this film at the Toronto Film Fest and this is what Josie and The Pussycats should have been. This charming little Japanese film will have you singing the Blue Hearts title song over and over. A group of aspiring teenage girls form a band to perform for the high school rock festival, can they get it together? Kudos to Nobuhiro Yamashita for putting together such a cute and impressive cast of young women who make up the band who are all skilled actresses. This is a sweet film that will win over any teenage girl who ever thought that they could start an indie band (but also wins over an adult crowd with it's modest charm and it's humor). Fans of Japanese female bands like Shonen Knife and the 5678s will also dig this film I think.BAE Du-Na (Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance, Take Care of My Cat) as Song wins my vote as the most endearing oddball in this film who wins you over with her big eyes and teenage awkwardness (not to mention a lot of funny misunderstandings because she is a Korean exchange student who speaks little Japanese). Generally this is a movie that will be talked about a lot I think when it gets a full release. Hands down one of the best at the Toronto fest this year (2005).