1992 ‘青春デンデケデケデケ’ Directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi
It is 1965. High-school student Takeyoshi Fujiwara hears "Pipeline" by the Ventures, and is mesmerized by their unique sound. With three friends, he forms a band called "The Rocking Horsemen." A warm and comic glimpse into high-school and small-town life in Japan in the 60's.
Yasufumi Hayashi Tadanobu Asano Yoshiyuki Omori Tsumatoshi Nagahori Shinichiroh Satoh Ittoku Kishibe Bengal Kaori Mizushima Wakaba Irie Isao Bitō Reiko Oimori Toshiki Ayata Toshie Negishi Takeshi Kusaka Yuriko Ishida Hajime Izu Aki Kajiwara Ryo Amamiya Sabu Kawahara Kaori Takahashi Kaori Kobayashi Takehiko Maeda Haruo Oguri Yasuko Ohisa Hiroshi Katsuno Yoko Minamino Kōen Okumura Toshinori Omi Kotomi Takimoto Show All…
청춘 딩가딩가딩, Seishun dendekedekedeke, 青春デンデケデケデケ, 청춘 딩가딩가 딩딩딩, 青春摇滚
Japan
Japan
I didn't have a lot of amazing school memories, or many friends that stuck around. That all changed once I joined university, but the pandemic put all the potentially fun times on hold, and that's not something I can experience again. It hit me today; the things I missed because we all had to stay home and attend online classes. But that's okay. Life happens.
I don't know how to play any musical instrument. Always wanted to learn the guitar because I've been obsessed with music for years now, but particularly Rock music. What can I say? The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Talking Heads, The Velvet Underground, and a whole host of other bands have defined my life and have provided…
Clearly the best genre is “high school kids get together in a group to make some kind of art, usually but not necessarily music”. Linda Linda Linda, Sound! Euphonium, K-On!, Liz and the Bluebird, Bunheads, Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken, what I’ve seen so far of Kids on the Slope, and now The Rocking Horsemen. All perfect.
Electric liberation, eternal youth. Nostalgia doesn't have to mean falling back into your memories of bygone days - it can mean bringing those days with you wherever you go. "Some things follow you all your life." Never forget that a goodbye doesn't have to be the ending.
Words simply can't describe how touched I was by this. I can think of at least five whole sequences that made sunbeams burst out of my face and my heart swell with joy. This is the perfect coming-of-age film because while it's steeped in nostalgia, it captures an exuberant immediacy in everything in the way only a child could see, and only Ôbayashi could show us.
All my best days are here -…
“it’s tough having avant-garde parents..”
ōbayashi’s feature length hug, time-capsuling the iridescent exhilaration that planets fleeting moments of youth. sonic daydreams forever ingrained in our transient odyssey, metamorphosing the coming-of-age’s relationship with music into hallowed self-discovery electrified by 60s counter culture. a surf rock resonance responding to the space between adolescence and adulthood. i could listen to baby-faced asano and his boys of the rocking horsemen strum all day. the magical noises of life’s adventures blended on supple celluloid and the euphoric vibrations of art revitalizing the soul. enjoyed this but when they played santa esmeralda’s don’t let me be misunderstood, my enjoyment skyyyrocketed!
Youth is freeing. It is a time when anything and everything seems possible; you are allowed the individual freedom to dream big and be bigger; to chase and wrangle your aspirations; love and live freely in the whistling wind of adolescence.
It is Wooly Bully working in a factory, paying in sweat and being paid in dollars which you will spend wisely on the only things that matter to you.
It’s Please Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood after your very first heartbreak; when you have long since popped the pimples and preened ’till you could preen no more, yet despite your best efforts, it comes crashing down—and the feeling is that of a truckload of anvils.
It’s
Paul&
John&
George&
Ringo.
It is…
Nostalgia. The 1960s. Adolescent life being struck by lightning in the form of Rock music. Finding like-minded friends and starting a band. Having a more experienced friend who gives you porno mags to understand sex. Banding together to help your shy friend get the girl he likes. Working during summer holiday to finally get the musical instrument of your choice. Worshipping music because, really, is there a superior object of reverence than music?
I felt oh so overwhelmingly ecstatic living vicariously through these characters. For the span of The Rocking Horsemen, I was there with them in small-town Japan, completely swept off my feet by its undeniable charm. I'm sure that a part of me will willingly never get out…
Glissando [gli-sahn-doh]: a continuous slide upward or downward between two musical points.
I think I owe Hausu an apology and a rewatch...
So, it turns out, I am a huge fan of Obayashi's visual comedic timing. That, coupled with his cartoonish angles and sweeping camera movements give his shots their own feeling of youth and energy that make the viewer feel like an honorary band member; or a wide-eyed groupie, at the very least. Fourth wall breaks, Family Guy-style cut-aways to dream sequences, clips of literal idiomatic representations, and spontaneous flash forwards for quick "Where Are They Now" updates make sure that there is always something visually captivating going on to retain your interest in what could easily get out…
I used to remember a guy named Ray. He was involved in my life for as long as I could remember since I was 5. Ray was more than just a friend to me. He was a remnant of my childhood life, someone who was probably there and grew up with me, seeing me mature over time. Almost as if he was my brother. Sure, we argued sometimes, and now we stopped meeting each other, yet I still hope that we still know each other. He was pretty much one of my best friends and despite long distance, it was always a delight meeting him every year. I still hold that birthday card he gave me back in 2015 when…
The discrete joy of plugging into an amp is just the starting point for this expansive coming-of-age in 60's Japan. It's a wistful retrospection leavened by sly humor, charm that never quite develops beyond dewy nostalgia, as Obayashi's edgy cam (handheld, quick editing) poses a stylistic distraction.
Japanuary 2022: Nobuhiko Obayashi
I love it when a film can transport me to another time and place. The Rocking Horsemen does just that, giving me a glimpse into small-town Japan in the 1960s through the eyes of teenage boys. Furthermore, I love it when a film can transport me back to better days. Obayashi managed to do that, too, by introducing me to a spectacular set of characters, all of which I could see parts of myself within. I often reveal my struggles and the obstacles that have plagued my life in my reviews and rarely ever reminisce about the good old times. But this remarkable slice of cinema encouraged me to look back and see the brighter days…
This movie is a pure joy manufacturing machine. I absolutely adored it. Couldn't get enough of it. Ōbayashi is a quintessentially kindhearted, eternally youthful, pop-punk cinema god, so it’s only natural that he would bring a tremendous amount of style and energy and light to a story about proto-punk surf rock music zapping the minds of wide-eyed Japanese kids in the 1960s.
Ōbayashi understands the concept of the “sequence” as well as any filmmaker who has ever done the gig. There’s always an experimental excitement to his scenes as he uses the form of his films to put us in the emotional space of the work. And he never uses these considerable powers for evil. He only wants us to…
Viewed with the Amazing Edith’s *Collab Film Group*.
A high energy bombardment of all the small and large moments coming-of-age has to offer; wallowing in a warm nostalgia that sizzles in a loose freneticism and non-linearity that will both impress you and leave you reeling in an almost seizure-like state. There’s more than one instance of rapid-fire editing used for great comedic effect, but one in particular, a bedroom scene with our main character breaking the fourth wall and talking to the audience is probably the best example of both the good and not-so-good effects of this artistic style.
Over the less direct coming-of-age portion, The Rocking Horsemen offers a great awareness and acute understanding of when we experience that song…
