HANA & ALICE

(HANA TO ARISU)

San Francisco Premiere

Japan 2004 | 135mins | 35mm Color | Japanese w/E.S.

Few filmmakers capture coming-of-age in Japan as vividly as Shunji Iwai, whose previous feature, ALL ABOUT LILY CHOU-CHOU, was a devastating portrait of 14-year-olds in the throes of a harrowing youth culture. Iwai takes a decidedly more lighthearted approach in his latest ode to adolescence, HANA & ALICE, where school seems a far less dreadful÷maybe even a tad rosy÷place for the titular teenagers. When tomboyish Alice points out her latest crush to coy friend Hana, she even encourages her to pursue his friend Mark. Reluctantly gazing at Mark from afar everyday, Hana gradually develops feelings for him; when Mark hits his head and passes out momentarily, she convinces him that he has amnesia, and that sheâs his girlfriend. Mark plays along until Hana embroils Alice into the scheme as his ex-girlfriend, only to find him falling for Alice instead. As they sort through their slightly confused dreams and memories and fumble along on their whimsical road to adulthood, Iwai reveals their incremental growth through delicately observed details of daily life÷authentically up-to-date dialogue, richly expressive gestures÷all in softly lit cinematography reminiscent of Monet paintings. Lucid in its observations yet tinged with the hue of nostalgia, HANA & ALICE offers an enchanting poem about that indescribable time when awakening minds are trying to catch up to bursting emotions.

÷Taro Goto