Swing Girls is the story of ordinary high school girls sick and tired of their daily lives whose hearts are captured by jazz.
The girls start to play jazz quite by chance. Although they never played an instrument before and are not in the mood for jazz, as they practice they come to love the music and to become proficient on their instruments. The group nearly falls apart any number of times. But their common desire to play jazz is strong enough to keep them together and leads them to taking part in a concert at which their performance is a great success. They play in harmonious accord and know the joy of achievement.
Swing Girls is directed by Shinobu Yaguchi, best known for Water Boys, a similar movie based on a group of boys learning synchronized swimming. The concept is obviously the same - "efforts are rewarded." While some people might criticize this similarity, the theme is perhaps something close the director's heart and does not detract from the enjoyment of either movie.
Most of the actresses are newcomers and do a wonderful job portraying real students, particularly the lead actress, Jyuri Ueno. All of the music in this movie is said to have been played by the actresses themselves, and their Tohoku dialect is very convincing.
This movie, however, is not perfect.To begin with, there are few scenes in which we see the girls making efforts to do well. They change from beginners to skilled amateurs all too soon. Outside of the handful of main characters, the rest of the girls lack their own individuality, a problem that was also evident in Water Boys.
But, while the movie may not be perfect, it reminds us that we are not perfect either. In fact it celebrates imperfection and in the end may remind us our younger days. I think that's the reason why this movie has had such wide appeal.
The girls start to play jazz quite by chance. Although they never played an instrument before and are not in the mood for jazz, as they practice they come to love the music and to become proficient on their instruments. The group nearly falls apart any number of times. But their common desire to play jazz is strong enough to keep them together and leads them to taking part in a concert at which their performance is a great success. They play in harmonious accord and know the joy of achievement.
Swing Girls is directed by Shinobu Yaguchi, best known for Water Boys, a similar movie based on a group of boys learning synchronized swimming. The concept is obviously the same - "efforts are rewarded." While some people might criticize this similarity, the theme is perhaps something close the director's heart and does not detract from the enjoyment of either movie.
Most of the actresses are newcomers and do a wonderful job portraying real students, particularly the lead actress, Jyuri Ueno. All of the music in this movie is said to have been played by the actresses themselves, and their Tohoku dialect is very convincing.
This movie, however, is not perfect.To begin with, there are few scenes in which we see the girls making efforts to do well. They change from beginners to skilled amateurs all too soon. Outside of the handful of main characters, the rest of the girls lack their own individuality, a problem that was also evident in Water Boys.
But, while the movie may not be perfect, it reminds us that we are not perfect either. In fact it celebrates imperfection and in the end may remind us our younger days. I think that's the reason why this movie has had such wide appeal.