Japanese Movie - Biri Gal (Movie) Standard Edition [Japan DVD] TDV-25414D

This is a story about an underperforming high-school student and her "cram school" teacher. The teachers at school already gave up on her, but the cram school teacher sees her potential and keeps encouraging her... And by this point you can see where the story is headed.However, if you can get over the predictable story and its possible interpretations (that the school system may be no good), this is a rather entertaining movie. The actors do a good job as well.The picture and audio quality is crisp.The extra features are light -- no interviews or behind the scenes stuff. Curiously, there's a segment of the author (who wrote the story based on his real life experience) giving a lecture to TV personalities. I didn't find that self-promotion too interesting.Note: This is a Japanese BD release, which carries only Japanese subtitles. You might want to find an international release under an alternative title "Flying colors".

There are a few "inside jokes" that, if you speak Japanese, will make this movie more enjoyable. It is a funny look at a Japanese girl who realizes that she really does want something more out of life than being popular. Kasumi Arimura is great as the precocious, though endearing, Biri Girl.

BIRIGYARU / BIRI GAL (FLYING COLORS). More Than A Chick Flick For Tennyboppers?Rating = ***Director: Nobuhiro DoiProducer: Nobuhiro DoiTheater (CineMatsuri 2016)2015Film = barely three (3) stars; acting = barely three (3) stars; subtitles = barely three (3) stars; script/story = 2.5 stars. Director Nobuhiro Doi trods the well-worn path of the shomin-geki (home drama) genre by delivering a standard family sitcom complete with role stereotypes, caricatures, and silliness masquerading as drama/comedy. This feel-good, sophomoric, movie fantasy would seem more appropriate for domestic TV viewers than movie theater audiences. The Director ensures that there will be no surprises (except maybe one) by aggressively telegraphing future events. The possible exception is the sudden and radical change in hair styles! Lead actress Kasumi Arimura never completely leaves her juvenile "Japanese cuteness" baggage behind as she progresses (at warp speed!) from bottom-of-the-class in public secondary school to acceptance by a prestigious private university via a year (or so) of private, cram-school coaching. Acting by Atsushi Itô playing the cram school teacher/psychologist/philosopher/hand-holder/de-facto-parent/would-be-lover/... is hard to swallow almost from the start and even more so as his character morphs into a caricature. Actress Yoh Yoshida takes on the typical role of a career-frustrated and long-suffering mother, but does so with aplomb; she consistently delivers the best (and most believable) acting in the film. All that being said (and at the risk of speculative over analysis), there is, perhaps, another angle to be considered: soft-core-propaganda with Doi's channeling of Mary Poppins (and her use of sugar to camouflages the bitter taste of medicine). The Director may be employing a cleaver multilayered pop entertainment wrapper to disguise his lectures on pressing societal issues. Targeted multi-generational audiences have seen programs of this genre before (they seem to be a staple of contemporary Japanese TV) which only adds to the effectiveness of the sugar coating. First up, of course, is the theme of the film which is an unrelenting indictment of the Japanese public school system with its focus on mass rote learning (with zero consideration given to individual student needs) and it's failure to prepare students to think for themselves as they become adults. Replacing public schools with privately chartered ones is the unmistakable message (sound familiar?). Then there is the negative impact of traditional child rearing where parents force children into a career path that the adults were denied or unable to succeed in. Student bullying or group-enforced conformity to the lowest educational level of achievement is also covered. (And there could be a few more packed in there.) The film is way too long (by half) and boringly repetitious. The screen play (and direction) look suspiciously like they may have been puffed up to increase the film's duration. Cinematography (semi-wide screen, color), lighting, scene continuity, and film score are okay. Subtitles often provide less than accurate (or complete) translations of line readings, and, essentially, can present a de facto parallel story to the one in the movie! Many signs are not translated. Fun to watch, but only with a ton of popcorn! WILLIAM FLANIGAN, PhD.

兎に角、有村架純の情感溢れる演技と伊藤淳史の愚直な塾講師の姿が微笑ましい受験サクセス･ムービー。実話なので、ストーリーや登場人物に唐突感や不自然さがなく、脚本もオーソドックス。“意外性”がテーマの割りには、白けることなく終止落ち着いて観られ、土井泰裕監督らしいバランス良い演出だ。本作の核心は何と言っても坪田講師のプロ意識に尽きる。コーチングの基本に沿って、生徒達への学びに対する動機付けや、本人が納得し易い工夫を凝らした指導スタイルには感心した。平田顕の現役教諭より、伊藤淳史の講師の方が結果を出してしまうのは、中高大一貫型の学校法人の雇われ教師と、結果が全ての企業ビジネスマンのプロ度の違いだろう。生徒に理想的な｢型｣を求める教師と、生徒本来の｢チカラ｣を引き出す講師とは、本質的に役割が違う。｢教える｣と｢学ばせる｣は似て非なるが、坪田講師は一番重いハードルを軽々と乗り越えるのだから恐ろしい。教育の原点を垣間見た思いだ。サブストーリーでは田中哲司と息子の間の蜜月と破局が上手く表現できているし、吉田羊の母性本能の強さも説得力があった。受験もスポーツも同じで、人生一度は本気になって賭けにでる価値はとてつもなく大きい。実話では、その後の人生は必ずしも順風満帆ではなかった模様だが、本気で闘った経験はいつかまた助けてくれるだろう。素直に謙虚に一心に努力する若者の一途さに心を打たれる、時々元気を貰いたくなる、なかなか侮れない傑作。

いつも映画は第三者の目で見ているが、母親の立場で見てしまった。どこまで子供のことを信用できるか、子供を任せる相手を見極めることができるか。吉田羊演じる母親は、一途に子供を信じる。母親は、特に第一子は何事も初体験で手探り状態、必死になる。その姿を見事に演じている。

本当に良い作品に出会えたと思えました。本を買って読んで共感できることばかりで、さらに映画では感情がダイレクトに伝わってきました。家で鑑賞したのは商品が届いてから数日後(笑)。忙しいせいというか、興味や関心が若い時ほど旺盛ではなくなったというか、最近は購入した商品が届いても中身を確認しては、「時間がたっぷりある際に、聴こう、観よう、プレイしよう」といった調子でした。しかし、この「ビリギャル」だけは違いました。実際にかかる一年以上の期間が見事に作品として尺に収められており、観ていて一緒に過ごしてきたかのような錯覚さえ覚えるくらいでした。配役も素晴らしく、適材適所でした。普段、生徒達と毎日を過ごしているだけに、これほど説得力のある作品、メッセージの込められた作品はないと私見ではありますが、他にないと思います。

劇場での鑑賞を見逃してしまったので、Blu-rayが発売されるのを心待ちにしていました。伊藤淳史さんと有村架純さんのコミカルな演出も面白く、終始笑って鑑賞出来ました。特典に至っては期待し過ぎていたせいか、プレミアム・エディションでなくても良かったかな？と思います。

気分が、滅入っていました。久しぶりに、笑えました。続けて5回観ました。