All About “All About Lily Chou-Chou”
This summer I discovered one of my new favorite hobbies: watching movies and television shows that looked cool but made absolutely no sense. After watching various pieces, I would hop on YouTube and do some research to find meaning and significance that I might have missed the first time watching. This led me to a discovery…
One of the most profound and depressing coming-of-age films ever made might also be equally as underrated as it is unknown.
“All About Lily Chou-Chou” written and directed by Shunji Iwai uses unique and visually engaging cinematography to connect the stories of select teenagers in Japan whose lives are impacted by the economic and civil unrest in their country in the year 2001, and shows how their lives are also greatly impacted by the literally “ether”-eal singer, Lily Chou-Chou.
While this film is likely confusing for most first-time viewers, it is evident of a few main themes. These 14 year-olds, while struggling to maintain relationships with others, their reputations, and their mental sanity, have all found solace in a current popular artist, Lily Chou-Chou. Similarly, themes of parasocial relationships and navigating the budding internet is incredibly important to the development of each character and how they view everything that’s occurring in the film. Some of the main students use chat rooms held for fans of Lily Chou-Chou in which, using aliases, they communicate with each other about the “Ether”. A definition for the “Ether” is complicated to come by, but it is seen mainly as a godly or other-wordly mode of communication that the main character, Yuichi, and other superfans utilize to hear “the word” of Lily Chou-Chou.
The phenomenon of the “Ether” is imperative because it creates one of the only safe spaces that these teens have. “All About Lily Chou-Chou” was conceived during a time when economic uncertainty in Japan led to violent crimes and outlashes from students, some examples of which are heavily present in this film. The movie is not the only piece of media established from this time period of the mid 1990s to early 2000s, as this time of economic recession and social brutality was a catalyst for the creation of many other popular pieces of media, particularly movies, music, and television shows.
This film is seemingly overlooked as an engaging and brilliant piece of media that defines an entire generation of teenagers as its influence stretches further than what meets the eye. The tracks in the movie are primarily made up of music by Debussy and Lily Chou-Chou (who derives inspiration from Debussy). While Chou-Chou is just a fictional character and is not actually shown in the film, the music written for the movie for this fictional artist is just as breathtaking as the movie itself. The vocals for “Lily Chou-Chou” are actually sung by the artist Salyu, with the score written and directed by Takeshi Kobayashi. These songs are true to how they are described by the characters. They are empty, meaningful, depressing, hopeful, and, of course, ethereal. My personal favorite would have to be “Glide”, which has been covered many times, including by Mitski. The 2021 Rock album To See the Next Part of the Dream by Parannoul is inspired by the film. What Shunji Iwai has created is a piece of art that constantly inspires other artists and their creations, even two decades later.
“All About Lily Chou-Chou” is tragic, beautiful, and relatable to really anyone who views it. While you might not be a 14 year-old in 2001 navigating the social climate of Japan, there is a nostalgia the viewer may feel about struggling with loneliness and having music as your only outlet. I highly recommend watching this movie and exploring the music derived from it, but I would advise researching the content in the film beforehand. Also, if you want to do more research, the YouTube videos below have so much fascinating information.
Watch: All About Lily Chou-Chou: When the Ether isn’t Enough in the World of Grey
Watch: my thoughts on all about lily chouchou... (it was perfect)
Watch: リリイ・シュシュのすべて (All About Lily Chou-Chou) - Movie Review