Rewatched Linda Linda Linda yesterday and it reinforced it as being probably one of my favorite movies ever, but I have such a hard time describing why. It just feels good to watch.

I love it when "girls are in a band" and this feels like the platonic ideal of that genre. You're rooting for the girls the whole time, even (especially) as they stumble through what it's like to just...be a weird high schooler. It has such an incredible grasp on how to play that teen awkwardness for both comedy but also in a way that feels incredibly real. They're weird and awkward and they do stupid things sometimes and you bet your ass they're going to do whatever it takes to be the god damn coolest sorta mediocre high school rock band and play some Blue Hearts songs at their school festival!! Hell yeah!!

Also almost every shot in the movie is so intentionally framed that you can't help but notice it as you watch, but it never takes out of being invested in the story itself. Part of the experience is noticing things like how much it plays with depth and framing and camera movement. Even if you're someone like me who doesn't normally notice things (me), it's impossible to miss, starting immediately from the two minute continuous tracking shot down a hallway that opens the movie. Also Doona Bae just completely KILLS every single interaction she has. It's awesome.

As I typed this I realized, I think the modern pitch of the movie is: "if you like Bocchi the Rock you will almost certainly like this movie"

And, great news! I just now learned that you can acquire it in fantastic quality from the internet archive!!