Bandage (film)
| Bandage | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Takeshi Kobayashi |
| Produced by | Shunji Iwai |
| Written by | Shunji Iwai, |
| Based on |
Good Dreams by Chika Kan |
| Starring |
Jin Akanishi Kie Kitano |
| Distributed by | Toho |
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Release date
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Running time
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119 minutes |
| Language | Japanese |
| Box office | $4,489,883 |
Bandage (バンデイジ bandeiji?), stylized as BANDAGE, is a 2010 Japanese independent film directed by Takeshi Kobayashi. It was written and produced by Shunji Iwai. Based on the original novel Good Dreams (グッドドリームズ guddodorīmuzu?) by Chika Kan, Iwai adapted it and renamed it Bandage.
The movie title has actually two meanings, a literal one, which is a play on the words "Band Age", because the story takes place in Japan's early 1990s, the boom of indie rock bands. And a figurative one, in which a certain character uses music as a "bandage" to heal the feeling of worthlessness.
Back in the 1990s, way before the manufactured pop acts we now see on TV, there was a flood of indie rock bands that were televised during talent contests that guaranteed instant fame. Amongst that band boom, a group of young musicians managed to dominate the music scene, a band that shone brightest for a brief moment in time.
Between popularity and talent, they go through various trials and lineup changes in the process. As Lands begins to climb the ladder towards major stardom, tensions within the band rise, they clash with the dark side of music industry, greed and discord surfaces, inevitable frictions emerge, and unrequited love strains their friendship, threatening to pull their bonds apart. These ups and downs are shown from the perspective of Asako, a high school girl who becomes the band's manager through an unexpected coincidence.
Apart from being Kobayashi's directorial debut, he is also in charge of the music production. The project was originally taken by Ryuhei Kitamura, then dropped in 2006. When filming finally started in late 2008, Kobayashi hand-picked a completely different cast for the movie, casting pop singer and actor Jin Akanishi with actress Kie Kitano for the lead roles.
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