Hula Girls dvd movie.|
Hula Girls buy bestselling dvd movies, videos find reviews, ratings, prices |
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List Price: $29.98 Our Price: $26.99 You Save: $2.99 Features • Anamorphic • Color • Dolby • NTSC • Widescreen In Theaters : 2006 DVD Release : 06 November, 2007 |
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| ♥♥♥♥♥ | Sweet, Feel-Good Film |
| "Hula Girls" takes place in 1965 in a small mining town in northeastern Japan. Coal is becoming outdated, and the mine is gradually closing down. To try to keep the town alive, a "Hawaiian Center" is being built and staffed, a place where it is "always summertime." The center is recruiting hula dancers, which is the focus of the film. To help feed their families and change along with the changing times, several coal miners' daughters join up under the tutelage of a disillusioned pro dancer from Tokyo, who was trained in Hawaii.
The film was very sweet, uplifting and enjoyable, and I can see watching it again (but perhaps not again and again). It was, however, a little cliched, as it was very reminiscent of other films of this type, and at several points I was reminded of, in turn, Dirty Dancing, A League of Their Own (there was even a point where the teacher says that there is no crying allowed) or Billy Elliot. The plot is also a little jumpy, and certain plot points are never played out. There is, for instance, the Tokyo teacher who almost instantaneously transforms from disillusioned drunk (even though we only see one episode of drunkenness) to tough-but-caring mentor. There is also a relationship between the teacher and one of the original dancers that ends up being very close and heart-rending, but we don't see how it got there - all of a sudden, the two are weeping and embracing, but we don't know why they are so attached. In contrast, the relationship between the teacher and Kimiko, one of the other original dancers and one of the stars of the film, is fully developed and logical. Overall, however, these things can be overlooked if the viewer just expects this to be a feel-good, uplifting movie and nothing more. The acting is generally good (some actors are more subtle than others) and the dancing and costumes are a lot of fun! |
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