CK's H!P Film Festival Pt. 4, The Award Goes To...

I'm finally getting an opportunity to do the next episode in this series.

I really love watching all of the Hello! Project related films and doramas.  It's great to see how talented many of the artists are.  And to be honest, most of the movies they do are pretty damn good!  The two selections I will be speaking about today, LAST PRESENT and 17Sai Tabidachi no Futari, I would never had discovered had it not been for Andra.  This is one of my favorite things about International Wota and all of my fellow J-music bloggers.  If it weren't for them I probably would never got to find out about the history and great goings-on in the J-music world.  So a big Arigatou Gozaimasu to all of you.

By the way, my trusty feline friend Dexter was very unhappy that I reviewed VICTORY! Futto Girls no Seishun without him, and made it a point to watch these features.

１７才～旅立ちのふたり (2003)

17sai~Tabidachi no Futari ~ was a theatrically released film in the fall of 2003.  It starred Ishikawa Rika and Fujimoto Miki .  Kawamura Maiko (Rika) is one of five foster children who live with their adoptive parents in a "less than" glamourous part of Tokyo.  She is soon to be eighteen, and she is an aspiring artist and writer.  Also living with her is "Kota", a precocious and angry young boy with a habit of running away.  Through Kota, Maiko meets Izumi Risa (Mikitty), a pretty but lonely girl who helps her single mother run a small cafe.

Now at this point we have met the characters, but far into the story I was still waiting for some kind of plot to develop.  For more than half of the film we are seeing these characters experiencing life.  I kept asking myself "Where are they going with this?  This is only about an hour long, get with it!"

Ultimately it is about our two soon-to-be adults growing up and making important life decisions.  When Maiko's father returns to Japan after 13 years, she needs to decide what kind of relationship she is willing to have with him.  As for Risa, she is troubled by her mother's promiscuity and angered by all of the men who take advantage of her.

It's not that I didn't like the movie.  In fact, all of the performances were top notch.  The scene where Maiko finally meets her father is very powerful.  And I couldn't help get emotionally invested into the foster families' lives.  On the other hand, the story about Risa and her mother is less developed, and as a result less interesting.  Even with the surprising attempted rape scene.  I am always astounded by some of the subject matter that pops up in H!P films.  This is the same company that writes those "virginal clauses" in the girls' contracts, right?  But you have to see the entire movie to really appreciate it's message.  It wasn't until it ended that I really started to like it at all.

2 1/2 of five stars for me.  Dexter really liked Mikitty and Charmy, but felt the child who played the "Kato" character was pretty scary.  The kind of kid that would hold him against his will and stroke his fur backwards!  2/5 for him...

 

ラストプレセント (2003)

LAST PRESENT ~ In my last review I declared VICTORY! Futto Girls no Seishun to be my favorite H!P film of all time.  But this one comes pretty close.  It premiered on the NHK Television Network on Christmas Eve 2003.  It tells the story of Kyoko (Abe Natsumi) a young woman who works for the postal service.  It is the Winter holidays, and her boyfriend Yoshiro wants her to spend Christmas Eve with him in his hometown of Hokkaido.  Since it is the busy season at the post office she refuses, sparking a petty argument.  Fast forward to Yoshiro's wake!  It seems that he has been killed in an accident.  And his brother meets Kyoko in a cafe to give her a videotape he left for her before his death.  The trouble is there were two Kyoko's in Yoshiro's phonebook.  And the second Kyoko (Ishikawa Rika) shows up and claims it is her that Yoshiro loved, and the tape is for her.

Together the two Kyoko's watch the tape.  After it offers no clues as to who it was for, the girls individually decide to go to Hokkaido and hopefully find the truth about Yoshiro's "last present".  The rest of the story is about the girls' experience traveling to Hokkaido, and the truths they ultimately uncover.

 

First off, this is a beautifully shot movie.  The location shots in Hokkaido will have you wanting to jump on the next plane for a visit.  I really like a lot of the H!P films' cinematography.  Koinu Dan no Monogatari and Pinch Runner were shot in amazing locales as well.  Second, Nacchi and especially Charmy show why they are the two biggest powerhouse actresses in H!P.  Rika's Kyoko is a barrel of emotion.  She's an artist and a total primadonna.  She can shift from sweet to angry on a dime.  It's really fun to watch her in this.  Nacchi plays her usual level-headed character.  But she has some great acting moments late in the story as she comes to terms with her own anger and sadness.

It's just a really cute film and a total joy to watch.  And it's super sweet ending makes it a perfect Christmas movie.  I highly recommend it.  5/5 stars.  For Dexter, there was even a cat in the film for him to relate to.  As Robert Mitchum once suggested in the movie Scrooged, "Programming...for cats!"  Dexter thinks Robert Mitchum is a genius!

 

Both of these films were translated by DJ_Waffles, and have recently been uploaded to You Tube (in 10 minute segments).  But who knows how long that will last.  You can also download them both on the Veoh TV player.

 

Now after watching all of these movies I have concluded that Ishikawa Rika is the greatest actress in Hello! Project.  I haven't counted, but it seems like she is in more films than anyone else.  And the range of characters she plays is impressive.  The characters she played here were completely different.  When you also consider her performances in Tokkaekko and Sukeban Deka, Wow!  And don't get me started on how much I liked her in Ribbon no Kishi.  And she is just so incredibly cute!  Everytime I watch her I wonder why I don't consider her one of my favorite Hello! Project members.  If it weren't for her rumored "bad attitude" about the fans, she probably would be!

 

Abe Natsumi has probably played just as many major parts.  But she seems to usually play more level-headed characters.  I'm not saying I don't love her acting, I really do!  But I would love to see if she has the acting range that Charmy has.

I don't know if there will be a future episode in this series or not.  It will depend on what else I can find.  But hopefully the days of Hello! Project and UFA making movies aren't over!

And thanks to Dexter for all of his help.  Now I think he wants me to feed him!

CK in California