Andoromedia (1998)

Director:

Takashi Miike

Writers:

Itaru Era (screenplay)
Masa Nakamura (screenplay)

Release Date:

11 July 1998 (Japan)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Sci-Fi | Romance

Plot:

Mai and her friends have an inseparable bond since childhood. But as of late, their friendship is questioned...

Plot Keywords:

Girl Group | Love | Pop Music | Virtual Reality | Based On Novel

Awards:

3 wins

Cast

Hiroko Shimabukuro	...	Mai Hitomi & Ai
Eriko Imai	...	Yôko
Takako Uehara	...	Rika
Hitoe Arakaki	...	Nao
Kenji Harada	...	Yuu
Ryô Karato	...	Satoshi Takanaka
Christopher Doyle	...	Sakkaa / Soccer
Tomorowo Taguchi	...	Gôda
Issa Hentona	...	Tooru
Shinobu Miyara	...	Hiroyuki
Yukinari Tamaki	...	Kazuma
Ken Okumoto	...	Daiki
Kensuke Toida	...	Bodyguard 1
Masataka Haji	...	Bodyguard 2
Naoyuki Yokoyama	...	Bodyguard 3

Also Known As:

Andromedia (International: English title) (USA) (video box title)

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Company:

Avex Inc.

Quite Lame

I've read a bit and found out about how Takashi Miike goes about making films. First off, it's almost never his idea for the film. A screenwriter or producer will contact him and then the ball will start rolling.

Here's the deal with Andromedia (the American title): Takashi Miike's prior film was The Bird People of China, which showed that he could actually direct an

audience friendly, traditional, and dare I say mainstream film. Miike was not terribly interested when someone contacted him about Andromedia. However,

he found an element of satire in the idea of the film, and I don't blame him. The plot of this picture is that a girl, Mai, dies, and her father, using the unexplained "magic" of computers, uploads her memories into an A.I system (cutely named

Ai). Oh, and there are two bad Japanese pop groups thrown into the system.

What emerges is Miike's stab at satire, at best. At worst, it's a sappy teen drama with poorly developed characters and an undefined plot. At the end of the film, you really do not realize what the villains in the film were up to. Ever. There is no motivation given for any of the villains. In fact, there is a double-betrayal towards the end of the movie that makes absolutely no sense at all.

So I chose to view the film as a satire, realizing that I had totally wasted my money expecting the usual from Takashi Miike (violence, sex, human emotions,

and dark, dark humor). Turns out I was not even granted good satire. The few

moments of hilarity come whenever boy-band Da Pump is on screen, especially

during their hilariously bad musical number, featuring pyrotechnics and bad

dance steps. Other than that, the film actually seems to take itself seriously. Which is really depressing considering how bad it is.

So, if you're looking for an interesting teen drama, don't bother. If you're looking for a satire, don't bother. And if you're looking for Takashi Miike, I don't know where the hell he went either.

4/10