Movies
A pretty standard, but decent and slightly above par Japanese band drama. There are quite a few of these though, and they never really seem to stand out much. Bandage was written by Iwai, which at least gives it some extra backing, but the result is still pretty much what you'd expect from a film like this. The camera work and cinematography were nice though. A bit freer and less restrained than usually the case, which helps to give the drama a bit of an extra push. The characters feel also a little more realistic and grounded, but it's not really enough to elevate this film above its many peers. The actual plot has been done countless times before. Record deals, band troubles, different visions on how to continue etc etc. It's really very basic. The music is also quite drab, which is another recurring problem. Uninteresting J-Pop/Rock that sounds like a million other songs and bands. It's a shame Kobayashi wasn't able to differentiate his film enough, because the potential for something better was clearly there.Read all