All About Lily Chou-Chou isn’t really all about Lily Chou-Chou. It’s about Yūichi Hasumi, a bullied teen who lives for the fictional titular J-pop star. Shunji Iwai captured the hopelessness of a generation with the visually stunning 2001 movie; while the laundry list of crimes perpetrated by a group of teenagers may be a little dramatic, Hasumi’s love for the Faye Wong-inspired star is universal. Iwai’s debut feature, Love Letter, follows a widow and her late husband's childhood friend. Beyond its dreamlike cinematography, the movie strengthened cultural ties as the one of the first Japanese films to be screened in South Korea post-WWII. – Rina Laby
