Japanese films of the 90s and early 2000s are very underrated, at least in my choices, as I keep jumping back and forth between the 50s and... 2010. While the classics are directed by the well-known and acclaimed Kurosawa, Ozu or Kobayashi, whose stories focus on the human condition in countless ways, at the end of the 90s a few names like Iwai, Nakashima or Sono began to appear. These filmmakers created new ‘experimental’ stories, drawing on the many influences imported from the West and others born in Japan itself, such as kawaii culture, animanga and video games. For a certain group of people, these films became cult classics. There was constant feedback of influences and interests between Japan and the West noticeable on the Japanese films from this period.

One of these films, Swing Girls, has become not only my favourite Japanese film, but one of my favourite films ever.

During the summer holidays, while a group of girls are wasting their time in tutored classes, Tomoko, one of these girls, watches through the window as the high school band goes to support the baseball team (perhaps for Koshien?). But just as they leave, the caterer arrives. Tomoko, who wants skip classes, suggests to the teacher that the rest of the class join her in taking lunch to them. After a rather eventful train journey, they deliver the food, which they had previously soiled and exposed to the heat of the Japanese summer. The whole group is food poisoned, and the only member who doesn't get sick because he hadn't eaten, blames them and forces them to take the place of his classmates. Tomoko and the girls take advantage of the situation to continue avoiding lessons, but gradually the music finds its way into their rebellious little hearts.

Swing Girls is literally a live-action adaptation of a school slice-of-life anime, but it's not as cringe-worthy as other films. It is a story of how students with no future, ostracized by their peers and teachers, prove that all it takes to succeed is a goal and enough confidence to achieve it. Moreover, these school stories emphasise living in the moment, because the last years of school life are also the last days of childhood. Entering university means the beginning of adulthood and, as we know, by Japanese standards this means absolute devotion to work and family.

The students stumble upon their passion in unexpected ways, and in almost two hours of footage we follow these girls as they go from teasing their classmates to devoting themselves entirely to music, ending up with a jazz orchestra that Damian Shazeru would have wanted for Wipurasshu. The film is always entertaining and fun, with a cheesy and cheeky humour. I loved this innocence and kindness that subtly surrounds the plot and the characters.

Swing Girls is simple, unassuming, and watching it makes me happy and puts a smile on my face from ear to ear.