Hula Girls (Screen Daily Review)

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Hula Girls (Hula Garu)

Allan Hunter in Toronto 21 September 2006


Dir: Lee Sang-il. Jap. 2006. 108mins

Hula Girls has all the ingredients for a crowd-pleasing heartwarmer but it sweats and strains to make the recipe work. Despite being based on true events it feels entirely formulaic with even the most casual cinemagoer likely to be one step ahead of every twist and turn in the plot. The comedy is very broad, the sentiment is shameless and the charm is thinly spread over an excessive running time.

Unlikely to win critical favour, it could still connect with a Japanese mainstream audience – it opens at home on Sept 23 - in search of undemanding, feel good entertainment. International prospects look slim although just like Shall We Dance it might have remake potential; a boost could also come if it progresses to awards night as Japan’s submission for best foreign language Oscar.

It may give the impression of having been cobbled together after a marathon viewing session of The Full Monty, Brassed Off and Billy Elliott but Hula Girls was actually inspired by a real incident from the 1960s.

Facing the steady decline of the local coal mining industry, Iwaki City in northern Japan decides to put its faith and economic future into the creation of a lavish Hawaiian Centre complete with hot springs and hula dancers. Teenager Kimiko (Etsushi Toyokawa) is among the first to sign up for a new profession as a dancer despite the stern disapproval of her mother.

Madoka Hirayama (Yasuko Matsuyuki) is the Tokyo outsider hired to whip her raw recruits into shape before a nationwide publicity tour and grand opening night celebration. Naturally, this means we witness a rehearsal montage of self-conscious ineptitude and gradual triumph.

Predictably, there is opposition within a traditional community to women becoming the wage earners and challenging the natural order of things and there are both cultural and generation gaps to be bridged before the big finale.

Lacking the quirky detail or fully developed secondary characters that might have enhanced the film’s appeal and reflected its roots in reality, Hula Girls sticks to a tried and tested format, tugging at the heartstrings with an accident at the mine, snatching success from adversity and emphasising the tear-stained bonds that develop between Hirayama and her growing band of hip-shaking students.

The sense of period is just one of the elements lacking from a film that never explores the social and sexual politics of the story in any great depth. Hula Girls is heavy going at times but improves in the second half as the triumph of the underdog formula starts to wear down your resistance. But there is a lasting sense that writer/director Lee Sang-il has squandered the potential for a much better film.

Cinematographer Hideo Yamamoto provides some sense of the contrasts in the story as the bleak, landscapes of the mining community are balanced by the colour and exuberance of the dances.

Production company
Cine Qua Non

International Sales
Fortissimo Films

Executive producers
Lee Bong-ou
Hiroshi Kawai
Yoshiaki Hosono

Producer
Hitomi Ishihara

Screenplay
Daisuke Habara
Lee Sang-il

Cinematography
Hideo Yamamoto

Editor
Tsuyoshi Imai

Production design
Yohei Taneda

Music
Jake Shimabukuro

Main cast
Yasuko Matsuyuki
Etsushi Toyokawa
Yu Aoi
Shizuyo Yamazaki
Ittoku Kishibe