StunnaKrypto Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Borgarkeri A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

Abegail Noëlle While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Roxie The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

badidosh A few days before they perform at their school's festival, a group of high school girls find themselves in trouble after their lead guitarist broke her finger and the lead singer had a falling out with one of them. The remaining members - guitarist Kei (Yu Kashii), drummer Kyoko (Aki Maeda), and bassist Nozomi (Shiori Sekine) - have three days to find a new member and practice for their performance. In a whim, they recruit Son (Bae Doona), a Korean exchange student who has no prior performing experience and can speak very little Japanese, to be their vocalist. And because they have no time to work on original compositions, the girls decide to do covers of the Japanese rock band Blue Hearts including the eponymous song.Essentially a feel-good movie about friendship, crossing language barriers, music, and that point everyone goes through (uh, leaving a major phase of life behind), "Linda Linda Linda" presents the life of four individuals in an innocently amusing manner. The overall pacing may be slow - the editing doesn't resort to quick cuts and many scenes are simply long takes where the camera remains static, minimal dialog is spoken and instead would rely on the actors' emotions - but coupled with the soundtrack of Smashing Pumpkins alumnus James Iha, Novuhiro Yamashita's lovely direction makes the film consistently droll and bittersweet.Minimal sub-plots are added and the narrative is pretty much straightforward. The script is mainly concerned with the four girls and their music as the girls' backstories are only hinted at, mostly involving teenage squabbles. A scene showing Son and a male admirer is funny to anyone who can relate, and Son's nonchalant reply to the boy's "I love you" is painfully amusing.However, the movie's main strength is the chemistry among the girls as they struggle to rehearse and form a bond with their new vocalist despite her inability to speak Japanese fluently. Bae, whom I last saw in the Korean movie The Host, subtly delivers her deadpan humor in a natural way and her skillful interaction with her much younger co-stars is spot-on.Generally, the film is a solid effort. It's pretty much straightforward in presenting a slice of life of its characters with a plot that's not too interested in veering away from the girls and the music they play together. The result is a simple movie that's both entertaining and endearing.

massaster760 In most films, directors try (with varying degrees of success and failure) to capture various feelings and emotions set in times and places that will connect with the viewer. When the director fails to catch the vibe emanating from the source material the film falls apart. But every once in awhile a director gets the material and turns out a product that seamlessly captures a slice of life. The latter better describes Nobuhiro Yamashita's Linda Linda Linda, a beautifully constructed study of young love, high school politics, and of course, rock and roll.In preparation of a High School Festival due in three days, band leader Kei (Yu Kashii) forms a group to cover the works of a J-Punk band named The Blue Hearts for the festival. She quickly finds a drummer, Kyoko (Aki Maede), and a bassist, Nozomi (Shiori Sekine). After some difficulty, the group finds itself their singer; a Korean exchange student named Son (Donna Bae), who only has a basic knowledge of Japanese. The group prepares tirelessly for the coming event... but will they be ready in time?OK, (I want to get this out of the way) I have one major gripe about Linda... To be honest, the first thirty minutes are paced so slow that it borders on tedium. Some scenes (in the beginning) are totally unnecessary to the plot and could have been edited better to provide the film with a better flow. Though after that, the film magically changes itself into a beautifully endearing coming of age drama complete with cute Japanese schoolgirls and blazing punk rock.After the clumsy beginning, Linda Linda Linda does one thing that few films can boast. It does an exquisite job of capturing the awkwardness of youth, the purity of blossoming friendships, and the universal love of music. As the film progressed, I was constantly reminded of simpler times in my life. A time when friends were closer than they ever were (after which life puts you through the ringer). A time when every experience was fresh and new and exciting... basically it reminded me of how it was to be young. This is no small accomplishment and is the film's strongest point, as well (I believe) as Nobuhiro Yamashita's primary goal in making Lind Linda Linda.Other than the emotional aspect of the film, Linda also features brilliant cinematography and a great score. Much of the camera-work seemed to be aimed at casting a "Abbey Road" effect, as many of the film's shots could be easily mistaken for album cover artwork. Add James Iha's (Smashing Pumpkins) melodic rock soundtrack and covers of the J-Punk band The Blue Hearts, and you get some moments of intense allure (i.e. what I like to call, "mind candy"). And we can't forget the actresses. Everyone holds their own here, playing their roles expertly and acting how you'd expect teenage girls to act, the standout being Donna Bae as Son. Her wide eyed, naive Son clinches the film and puts it into the level of greatness. She plays the kind of girl that you'd want to befriend, both subdued and full of life at the same time.Bottom Line-This is a beautiful film that encapsulates all the emotions of youth. A bit boring and unfocused at the start but the rest of the film more than makes up for it.

jv_rules_1 please ignore the other comment . this movie is simple and effective. i saw it during the festival du nouveau cinema in montreal. i just randomly picked it even if the synopsis didn't seem that interesting...set in japan, its about 4 teenage girls who form a rock band so that they can play a song at their school festival. the characters are well developed. the images are reallllly nice.(a la jim jarmusch) its like a teen movie made for people who don't usually like teen movies. the pace is a bit slower than usual teen movies but its much more mature and still ends up being funny.plus, the soundtrack, by james iha (ex-smashingpumpkins), is quite goodgo see it. or rent it or whatever.

YNOTswim "Linda Linda Linda" is a high school drama which bores me, because I can't make the connection with either the story nor the presentation of the film.There is a school festival at a local Japanese high school, and one of the female student rock band can no longer play because one of its member broke her finger. What to do? They recruited a Korean exchange student Son to be the lead singer to sing Blue Hearts's signature song "Linda Linda Linda." They have to practice day and night because there are only three days left before the festival and Son's Japanese is not very good.It might not sound much in this story, because indeed there is not much. If you went to a high school in Japan, I am sure that you would love this film and you can identify with the characters in the film and bring out so much nostalgia from you. But I didn't have that experience nor am I a Korean exchange student, so when the film doesn't make much effort to get me involved with the story emotionally, I start to yawn. I was bored being a bystander. The editing was sloppy as well in my opinion. It seems to me that the filmmaker doesn't want to cut anything shoot on films. So many scenes are randomly put together without a purpose, especially lacking of continuity.While it was fun to see what Japanese high school life might be like, this film is a little too long and less interesting.