Review: Strawberry Shortcakes

[spoilers]

I went to see Strawberry Shortcakes at the ICA today. It's a film that is part of the Japan Foundation's touring film programme, "A Life More Ordinary: A Portrait of Contemporary Japanese People on Film". The programme aims to bring to the UK Japanese films that don't fall into the usual import fare ie there are no bullets to the head or blood splatter, no clashing katana or bizarre ghosts with long hair.

Perhaps the Japanese don't want us to think they're obsessed with sex, violence, robots & monsters.

In a documentary style, Strawberry Shortcakes follows the life of 4 Japanese women in Tokyo: a prostitute, a receptionist at her brothel, an OL, and an artist. It focuses on how they make a living, their inner thoughts and their relationships with men. It's based on a manga by Kiriko Nananan.

I thought it was an interesting film, with 4 female leads, which allow female characters to come to the fore. The acting was effective, if a little stilted but perhaps that's just the typical behaviour of the Japanese female in a patriarchal society.