User Reviews

This little movie was a pleasant surprise. I went into it with zero expectations, having randomly selected it looking for Japanese movies streaming on Netflix, and its informality, humor, quirky characters and unambitious storyline added up to an experience that was entertaining and charming, in a low-key way.

The hapless hero, if you can call him that, is a small-town, overweight, probably under- talented NEET (not in employment, education or training) who dreams of being a rapper and is maybe in love with a girl he knows from high school who's worked in AV (adult video, aka porn). His humiliating journey -- getting beaten up, jeered at by the girl he likes, performing hip hop to "represent youth" in front of a roomful of polite city council members -- isn't really all that much of a journey. But he and the supporting characters are so naturalistically and modestly portrayed that they somehow come to be endearingly real and sympathetic.

Anyway, this may not be the greatest movie of all time or anything, but it reminded me of other indies about 20-somethings I've enjoyed over the years: Repo Man, She's Gotta Have It, Clerks and Bottle Rocket spring to mind. Like them, 8000 Miles is understated, fresh and funny, unpredictable and unsentimental. A nice surprise.

note: the English subtitles leave quite a bit to be desired, spelling- and punctuation-wise, but they kind of fit the offhand feel of the film and they're adequate.

This is on someones list of top 100 Japanese films and i mistakenly wasted my time watching this.

There are a lot of problems with this film plot characters cinematography it all is pretty much terrible.

Getting into it though the story is about a group of adults in their early twenties who want to be rappers. The only problem is they all are terrible and more or less ugly losers. The story line is just a bore they never do anything in this film they have one "concert" and that isn't even performed on a stage.

The biggest problem are the actors and actresses in this film. THEY ALL SUCK. they are all terrible actors. This film looks like it was made by a college drama club and it's members and their parents were used for the acting roles. The best performer in this film was by a porn star! Thats how bad they all were.

Another huge thing though is just how obviously low budget this film was. They probably spent a thousand dollars making this film. They filmed at 5 different locations and none of those were ascetically pleasing. Everything just seemed very unprofessional. I seriously feel like i could go out now and make a better film then this.

Yeah i felt like i had to write this so everyone knows to stay away. Really if you watch this your just going to be wasting your time.

If you want to see cool rappers, then you should watch "8 miles".

However, if you want to see someone who is chasing an impossible dream, and still never gives up, "8000 miles" is the right one.

This film is about amateur rappers in Japan. They are not good at rapping, but still, dreaming to become famous rappers.

Before you watch this film, if you do not know much about Japan, there are a few things you need to know about.

Firstly, rap music is not so popular in Japan.

Many Japanese people have a stereotypical image that "Hip-hop music is only cool when it is sung by black people". Therefore, Japanese rappers are sometimes treated unfairly.

Some people openly make fun of them.

In this film, 8000 miles, this discrimination against Japanese rappers is one of the main themes.

Another thing you need to know about is the location. The scene of this film is laid in "Saitama".

Saitama prefecture is next to Tokyo, so it is not a remote countryside. But everything is mediocre, and there is almost nothing to be proud of.

That is why people call it Da-Saitama. ("Da-sai" means uncool.)

To sum up, the characters of this film are in the worst city in the worst country to be rappers.

So, basically, you can watch this film as a comedy.

Watching ugly guys in a lame city rapping funny, you will laugh at them.

However, in the end, there is a point they are made to give up their dream. They need to make decision whether they give up their dream and start normal lives or keep moving toward their dream.

Please watch the film and check how it ends.

Anyone who gave up his dream, or anyone who is about to give up his dream,

anyone who has no talent but still cannot give up their dream,

must watch this film.

Obviously, this is a cheap, low-budget film, but it surely has a power to encourage you.

Tips: The original Japanese title of this film is "Rappers in Saitama". much better than the English title.