Dokuritsu shônen gasshô-dan (2000) User Reviews

Teen anxieties explored through a boy's choir

[p-gonzo · 7/10 · 30 January 2006]

This is a very interesting and well-made film, well worth watching. It has been carefully constructed and bears repeat viewings. The film is set in the 1970's and revolves around a newly orphaned teenage boy who also happens to stutter. Sent to an orphanage, he is teased and almost runs away, until a beautiful, androgynous boy convinces him to join the choir. The dynamic between these boys forms the overall arc of the rest of the film, with the choir itself serving as the vehicle. There is also a subplot involving the choir-master and a female from his political-activist past (this explains the 70's setting), which is more diversionary than effective.

One might expect a lot of homo-erotic subtext in such a setting, but it is almost completely played down. Yet then when there is a sudden intrusion of a female choir -- the movie suddenly is all erotic symbolism for one scene, whose only purpose is to trigger the third act (which is a little uneven).

The camera sometimes moves too much for its own good and the hand-held is not really necessary, but overall the movie is nicely filmed in rural Japan. The music score is quite beautiful.

Leisurely and disappointing

[sharptongue · 5/10 · 21 October 2002]

Lots of bits of this mostly meditative film are quite good. There are beautiful images and some heavenly soundscapes. There is also a promising central story concentrating on the friendship of two odd young boys in a provincial boarding school and their interest in choir music.

The standout character is the incredibly effeminate Yasuo, with the angelic high voice and commanding personality. His good friend, the stuttering Michio, doesn't make much of an impression, although he is the main and viewpoint character.

But it's a case of good ingredients and mediocre method. The story falls well over the line dividing leisurely and slow, and jumps around too much. The violent episodes in the middle of the film don't quite gel with the usually gentle but sometimes cruel feel of the rest. It ends up being dull and muddled, as well as frustrating, because there was much good material, of which a much better result was quite possible.

Music, politics and love

[gothic_a666 · 8/10 · 15 October 2010]

Despite it's title, 'Boy's Choir' is not so much about a group of singers as it is about two boys in particular that strike a rather ambiguous relationship. Music is the vehicle through which they grow but it is also mingled with a political awareness. Artistic discipline lends itself very well to spreading a doctrinal message and the boys read about the Russian revolution in between intense rehearsal sessions. As someone who has been in a choir I can only commend the enthusiasm that veers of military training.

But it is here that the danger lies: too much devotion for a cause can result in destruction. The nostalgic aura that pervades the movie is already a hint of later developments. Very interesting is the way the main boys relate to each other. It starts as something conventional, the star of the company befriending the clumsy stuttering newcomer and showing him the wonders of singing, to develop into a complicated web of dependence and complicity in which it is the by now well adjusted new comer that supports the off kilter shining star. While I did come across this title in a list of gay themed movies there are only undertones of homo-erotic tension. And these suffice to convey the confusing awkwardness of going through puberty.

Ultimately, it is precisely an inability to progress toward adulthood and accepting all that comes with it that leads to the climax. It is always very refreshing to find a movie with teenagers that manages to go beyond clichés and this is such a movie. Choir life is captured perfectly. The combination of political and individual concerns set against a mildly religious background is seamless. Character growth is at the heart of it all.

Covering a vast emotional spectrum and relying on wonderful acting 'Boy's Choir' is not an easy watch but a rewarding one.

Mishima formula film?

[quarrion · 14 January 2003]

I hope that an expert in Japanese literature can inform us here, but isn't this the classic Yukio Mishima formula? I expected to find that it was based on one of his novels, but it does not say this in the IMDB.

(Male) Plodder meets (male) Shining Star. Shining Star is physically beautiful male with Dream. Plodder befriends Shining Star and helps him with his Dream. Shining Star becomes more fanatical with Dream. Shining Star frustrated in Dream but won't compromise. Shining Star self-destructs. Plodder left with painful but inspiring memories of Shining Star.

If you like this kind of thing, then do see it. Ultimately not very human, but fanaticism never is.

On a musical note: If Japanese choirs really rehearse like this, with such discipline and dediction, then we need to take some lessons from them!

Dull, boring & uninteresting

[jaybob · 3/10 · 11 December 2008]

BOYS CHOIR, yes this is a movie about a boys choir in a rural Japanese orphanage. This is the truest item.

This film was listed a comedy & also having a gay theme.

IT IS NOT A COMEDY, also there is nothing gay about this film in ANY meaning of word gay. Yes 2 of the lads become friends, NOTHING is even inferred that they are more than friends.

There is also a needless leftist subplot involving a female friend of the choirmaster, who causes a tragedy.

The film is also way over long.Running time of 130 minutes is at least 40 minutes too long.

The opening scene was very confusing, I did not know what was happening, the final scene was needlessly tragic.

How this film won awards is beyond me.

It is DULL & BORING.

I have seen more than a few movies about Boys Choirs & Choirs in general, most were at least uplifting & you left with feeling good.

At the conclusion of this one, I felt no emotion only utter boredom.

The settings are interesting & the cinematography is good. The performances by all are just passable,

Ratings *1/2* -- out of 4--43 points out of 100---IMDB 3 out of 10

Wowie!

[kmaloney7659 · 10/10 · 30 March 2007]

This film is excellent for both people who adore foreign films and even those who don't! The story is a tale of Michio and Yasuo, two poor orphans lost amidst a sea of loneliness and hormones. I won't ruin it for anyone but let's just say that their story is indeed a tragic and beautiful one! I was not only enthralled by the superb imagery but the songs sung by the young cast of the film made my heart feel as though it was going to burst with joy! I'm already on the hunt for the soundtrack! The directing is excellent and I was amazed by how stupendously the film moved from scene to scene. The transitions? Amazing! The acting? A+++! Boy's Choir is a must see for everyone, young and old alike!

Is this a gay themed movie?

[larapha · 3/10 · 23 September 2015]

This Japanese story of strong bondage between two adolescent males can't be properly considered gay,and more of in the occident the new term is bromance. And that's most of the plot of this long movie, 2h10. Boy enters an orphanage school, is bullied for its stammering, supported by another and conduced to the choir, where situations eventually are transposed. Subplots include an embryonic leftish movement never well explained. Bore, bore, pure boredom. Beautiful landscapes in a meditative film indented for Japanese fanfics, which will give significance to small rocks left in precise points.The beautiful landscapes that changes throughout the seasons are a plus.

A good film

[foxman2004 · 10/10 · 26 March 2005]

I enjoyed watching this film from Japan (with English subtitles). It was one of the first foreign films I have seen with a good plot and storyline. It didn't begin a scene and then skip to something that didn't seem to have anything to do with the first scene. A young teen's father dies, and he is sent to an orphanage. He enters a world that he is not accustomed to. This is a good film to watch. A lot of genuine emotions come from it, as the story unfolds. The acting was very good, and the main characters were well-defined. It was a good portrayal of those things that happen in life: hopes and dreams that may or may not come true.