InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

calibear_todd It's a surprising tearjerker, with good acting and strong characters you would expect who originated in the Iwaki coal mine, but it whitewashes the fact that much of that mine's wealth was as a result of WW2 slave labor. This is a problem the Japanese seem to have in confronting their history. Unfortunately, it wasn't only Japanese who suffered in the coal mines!

WILLIAM FLANIGAN Viewed on DVD. An entertaining bit of fluff based (more or less) on a real event: the unlikely founding of a Hawaiian-themed resort spa on the cold northern coast in Fukushima Prefecture's coal country! The temperature in Iwaki (the story's location) on average is about half that of Hawaii which may account (at least in part) for the spa's continuing success. Direction and acting are uneven. Comedy scenes seem to be the director's forte (there are many hilarious moments in the first half of the movie), but not drama (dramatic scenes are too drawn out and hammy especially in the second half of the film). Adult actors (and adults trying to act as juveniles) deliver the best performances. Interiors (especially the practice dance studio and performance hall) are unrealistically amusing: this may be a prosperous coal town, but it's not that prosperous! (Interiors were shot at the resort spa.) Subtitles are essential (the dialog is loaded with slang and delivered at Tokyo street speed), but tend to be a bit longish. Cinematography (16:9 wide screen) and sound are fine (the apparent remix to elicit surround-sound is especially well done). Even the production unit's name is Kawaii: "Black Diamond" (aka "coal"). WILLIAM FLANIGAN, PhD.

timgui-1 A delightful & endearing film. Hula Girls is another example of the quality, vibrancy and most important of all, the originality that can still be found in the Japanese (& French) film industries (so unlike Hollywood which is mired in re-makes) Hula Girls has many of the very typically Japanese quirkiness which mixes the history & culture of Japan with genuine humour & real human feelings combining all into a wholly entertaining film which has all the hallmarks of that other fabulous Japanese film, "Shall We Dance" A great cast which had some solid veteran performances and also showcased some very promising young talent and faces to look out for in the future.Stunning dance routines and a delightful soundtrack by Jake Shimabukuro on the ukulele.This is a film not to be missed and one to treasure on DVD.

Jamester I saw 'Hula Girl' at the Toronto International Film Festival with the affable director Lee Sang-Il present.This movie, based on the true story of how a dying coal mining town attempts the preposterous idea of building a taste of Hawaii in the cold town through dancing girls, a huge palm-tree filled centre and an 'outsider' dance teacher from Tokyo.Almost immediately, you know that this movie will be about the town's struggle to survive pitting the traditional, town-encrusted family against those supporting a potential new way of life. I had thoughts of the Japanese version of 'Shall We Dance' ringing through my mind, but perhaps the dancing is the furthest you can compare between the movies. The emotional depth of the movie was somewhat unexpected...sadness, some corniness, some laughter. Yet the movie worked where it needed to, and kept moving at the right pace leaving me at the end feeling like I had seen everything that had happened. Except that at the end, I had been so entranced with the characters I was wondering how they, themselves turned out.The movie pulled me in nicely with a strong story that was well developed and a really good watch.If you're looking for something a little different, and open to learning a little bit about life in a small Japanese town in the 1960s, I think this gives you a good feel for the people, the attitudes, and a change that took grip in a dramatic and light-hearted way.Kudos to the director and production team!