It's a film that wins with style, a film that proves that "vision" can actually be the most critical aspect of a narrative.
Since her debut, Shikazu Kawa has developed her own unique style of photography, focusing on the beauty of the picture even more than the story itself, strong colors and impressive set design and costumes, so that almost every frame looks like a painting or a photographic work. It's reminiscent, Oh! It turned out that the photographer was her main job. Although she also adopted this style in her later films, "Wicked Girl Flower Queen" is still the pinnacle of this style.
Set in the brothel district of Yoshihara in the Edo generation of Japan in the 18th century, the script was written by Yuki Tanada and adapted from the manga of the same name by Yoko Anno. In that area, the most prestigious wandering women were called "Flower Queens", and there was a whole set of etiquette learning for the sake of fame and attention from the outside world. The film revolves around Kiyoba (Anna Tsuchiya), who lives at Yoshihara's most famous brothel, Tamakiya. Since she was a child, she has been different because of her impoliteness, all kinds of transgressions and the strong ambitions she has displayed. The script tells the story of her growth from an ugly child to Yoshihara's most famous flower queen.
Shika Kawa directs a film that emphasizes the lives of wandering girls, beginning with Kiyoba being sold to a brothel as a little girl, where they undergo rigorous and frequent violent training, from literature to art, to ways to please guests, just to survive in this despicable society, mixed with countless calculations.
Kiyoba's lively personality refuses to survive within Yoshihara's narrow territory and longs to return to life outside. Her attempts only led to repeated arrest and beatings, and she changed her strategy to learn and master the art of becoming a flower queen. Despite his frustration with "The Woman's World", young Kiyoba is determined to prove people wrong.
Her mischievous, grumpy girlish demeanor hides extraordinary generosity and tenderness, which Tsuchiya captures perfectly in her wonderful performances. Kiyoba refuses to believe that women are like goldfish – beautiful only in the water tank of a brothel, leaving like an ugly carp in the wild, never giving up on the desire to escape from Yoshihara on his own terms.
The approach of The River is sometimes interesting, but the drama surrounding the lives of the wandering girls is well conveyed, especially by depicting their world as a world where true love does not exist. This is entirely poetic and metaphorical, as goldfish often appear in the water tank to represent the plight of these girls, and the bloom of the cherry blossom tree is Kiyoba's hope for love and freedom. At the same time, while the way it is presented is a bit extravagant, there is also a lot of realism in it, including in the way the customer is depicted, and in the interesting way that history repeats itself.
Although popular themes abound in Japanese movies – rebellious teenagers, star-studded lovers, the feeling of being trapped in traditional thinking. Kaokawa has created a world that belongs entirely to her, a luxurious, alternative reality, full of red and gold, whether it is a stunning kimono or a woman's ketone body, which can bring almost sensual pleasure. Most importantly, she created a world where Kiyoba discovered that she could make her own rules.
This narrative, which became an extreme love story after stylization, is one of the best parts of the film. In order to show the character of Kiyoba, the pictures of adulthood and childhood are displayed back and forth on the thread of time, and are perfectly portrayed, so that the audience always maintains the motivation to continue watching. Hiroaki Morishita's editing helps the most in this regard, while combining the perfect tone of J-POP soundtrack of Shiina Hayashiki, from jazz to pop music to heavy rock, continues to break with tradition, making the film often turn into a very interesting music MV, perfecting Kawakawa's vision of a "floating world", adding another dimension to the film's playful punk rock aesthetic, relieving emotions in the most timely moments.
As mentioned earlier, the beauty of the picture is the protagonist here. Struggles, flirtations, and seductions all take place against a kaleidoscopic backdrop, and are often frozen for a minute or two using open long static shots in carefully arranged shots, showcasing Kaokawa's extraordinary compositional vision. The work done by the art director in the production design, the gorgeous screens and kimonos; the fluttering cherry blossoms and the swimming goldfish; the exquisite makeup skills are all eye-catching, and in the production design that successfully captures all the superficial beauty of the night entertainment world of the Edo period, each group of costumes, everything looks amazing, and the coloring is completed with the precision of the painting, achieving a truly harmonious tonal combination in each scene; coupled with the control of the picture by the director of photography Takuro Ishizaka, the way to capture every beautiful picture, the rhythm is melodious, The color-saturated scene scheduling pushes the film forward, producing such a visual feast that proves that style is the most critical element of a successful film.
On the other hand, Anna Tsuchiya, one of the most demanding roles of her career, when her beauty was at its peak and perfectly fit the overall aesthetic of the film, while her bass and the way she played her own hot-tempered was truly a great ornamental pleasure. In addition, despite Kiyoba's success, fame, and consequent arrogance, she is actually a disillusioned and sad character, and she refuses to cater to men's desire for submissive women with her energetic performances, which also adds color to her impressive overall performance.
The Wicked Girl strikes just the right balance between surface and substance, presenting a very interesting story through a comprehensive examination of the life of a wandering girl, especially the beautiful picture is almost intoxicating, but above all, it is still a triumph of style, and the film proves that "visual" is actually the most important aspect of the narrative.