Suwingu gâruzu (2004)

A tale of delinquent and lazy school girls. In their efforts to cut remedial summer math class, they end up vitiating and replacing the schools brass band.

Director:

Shinobu Yaguchi

Writers:

Shinobu Yaguchi, Junko Yaguchi (contributing writer)

Stars:

Juri Ueno, Yûta Hiraoka, Shihori Kanjiya

11 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Juri Ueno	...	Tomoko Suzuki (Tenor Sax)
Yûta Hiraoka	...	Takuo Nakamura (Piano)
Shihori Kanjiya	...	Yoshie Saito (Trumpet)
Yuika Motokariya	...	Kaori Sekiguchi (Trombone)
Yukari Toyoshima	...	Naomi Tanaka (Drums)
Kana Sekine	...	Hiromi Watanabe
Asuka	...	Chika Kubo
Fumiko Mizuta	...	Yuka Yamamoto (Bass)
Chiyo Nakamura	...	Emiko Okamura
Masae Nemoto	...	Akemi Otsu
Madoka Matsuda	...	Yumiko Shimizu
Mutsumi Kanazaki	...	Rie Ishikawa
Nagisa Abe	...	Reiko Shimoda (Trumpet)
Misa Nagashima	...	Misato Miyazaki
Eri Maehara	...	Kayo Yoshida

Storyline

A bunch of lazy and unmotivated schoolgirls are thrown into the extracurricular music club of their school and not exactly voluntarily. They are trying to cut out the hard stuff - yes, mathematics - and become the replacement crew for the actual musicians in the school club, but slowly come into their own as they learn to handle the instruments and themselves better. Craziness and zaniness ensues, but how is the swing music delivery at the end?

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Plot Keywords:

thigh high socks | short skirt | miniskirt | japanese schoolgirl | sailor uniform | 

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Taglines:

Girls meet Jazz!!!

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Genres:

Drama | Comedy | Music

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Many of the actresses had never played an instrument before. They took intensive music lesson at Yamaha Music School for several months before the shooting began.

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Goofs

When Yoshie Saito, the character portrayed by Shihori Kanjiya, first places the mouse on the end of her Trumpet, it has no tail. In later scenes it is shown with a tail.

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Quotes

Nakamura, Yuta: Where do you think you're going?
Tomoko Suzuki: Bathroom.
Nakamura, Yuta: Liar! You really have to practice. There's only a week left 'til the game!
Tomoko Suzuki: Won't even let us pee!

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Crazy Credits

During the closing credits, the characters from the movie lip-sync along with "Love" by Nat King Cole.

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Soundtracks

L. O. V. E.
Written by Bert Kaempfert and Milton Gabler
Performed by Nat 'King' Cole

User Reviews

I like Swing Girls.

Swing Girls (2004) was directed by Shinobu Yaguchi. Born in Kanagawa in 1967, Yaguchi other works include Adrenalin Live, A Secret Flower Garden and Water Boys. The latter has been his most successful movie to date, having been developed into a weekly television series. Water Boys shares many similarities with Swing Girls. First of all, the stage for each movie is high school and the main character in each is a boy (or girl) with no particular talent, skill or interests. He (she) discovers synchronized swimming (jazz music) and undergoes a transformation. Both movies are based on the theme of succeeding.

Set in present-day Japan, Swing Girls is the story of girls who meet and are deeply fascinated by jazz. The heroine is a very typical Japanese teenager. Her character is suggestive of the hidden problem of today children. She lacks any special interests or motivation and dislikes making any effort. But when she discovers jazz, she discovers something she can be absorbed in and begins to transform herself. At first, she is not able to even make a noise. But she and her friends practice and come to be able to play their instruments. They slowly come to be fond of jazz and take part in a music competition.

All the music was played by the actresses and actors themselves, which is perhaps the most outstanding aspect of Swing Girls. Their accents, on the other hand, sound to me like an imitation. But, as a whole, I like this movie.

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

11 September 2004 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Garotas do Balanço

Filming Locations:

Yamagata, Japan

Box Office

Budget:

JPY500,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$18,758,613

Company Credits

Production Co:

Altamira Pictures Inc., DENTSU Music And Entertainment, Fuji Television Network

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1