The film opens in 1975 with the character Kamachi Yamada, who strives to be the best he can be. His motto throughout his life was "24 hours a day is not enough." However, when he fails to get into an elite school, he enlists in a cram school, where he meets Yoko, who he falls in love with. After confessing his love, she suggests they remain friends, much to his dismay. Twenty years later, Shun starts a web site, calling for people to "enter another world." A girl, Miyuki, and a boy, Yuichi, respond. All three attend the same cram school, of which an older Yoko is now an instructor, and Miyuki purchases sleeping pills from Shun. Throughout the film, Yoko helps the troubled teens in breaking away from the use of drugs and learning to live in the moment. At the end, she tells Miyuki about Kamachi, who was trying to live his life to the fullest, and how much he loved her. In 1977, two years after Kamachi and Yoko met, Kamachi had received the news that his studying paid off and he was accepted into an elite high school. It was also the day when Yoko had told Kamachi that it was possible they would not remain friends forever. In 1977, at the age of seventeen, Kamachi lost his life due to being electrocuted from malfunctioning musical equipment. His death was caused by the very guitar he was given for his birthday a few months prior.
Kamachi Yamada was born on July 21, 1960 in Takasaki in the Gunma Prefecture, Japan. He had begun to draw pictures when he was a year-and-a-half. By the time he was in grade 2, he had begun to write down his own poetry by the advice of his mother. By grade 3, he was able to draw several pictures of animals from memory within an hour. By grade 9, Kamachi began to immerse himself in rock music due to the likes of The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith, among others. During that year, he formed a rock group with his friends. He had rebelled against the Japanese education system, causing him to fail his entrance exam for senior high school. During his time in which he began studying to retake the exam, he had lost a childhood friend, who he was in love with. The stress led him back to painting and poetry. Shortly after his seventeenth birthday, Kamachi was electrocuted by the guitar in his Tatami room in 1977. It was after his passing when his family discovered multiple notebooks full of poetry, watercolor paintings and drawings. The works were later placed in a museum.
Soundtrack
Kamachi featured music composed and performed by Koji Endo, along with performances with Bonnie Pink and Anamu & Maki. While the hip-hop group Lead performed the film's theme song, "Get Wild Life", it was not featured on the soundtrack. The group had released the song on December 3, 2003, three months before the film's release. The soundtrack was released on CD.
"Please Mr. Postman at boy'sroom" – Bonnie Pink x Koji Endo
"Boys' Struggle" – Koji Endo
"Still in the Dark" – Koji Endo
"Kamachi Comes Alive at kitsune" – Koji Endo
"Kamachi Comes Alive at shiratama" – Koji Endo
"Please Mr. Postman at following" – Koji Endo
"Under the Pencil of Agony" – Koji Endo
"Kamachi Comes Alive at handshake" – Koji Endo
"Please Mr. Postman at laidback" – Bonnie Pink x Koji Endo
"This Is Not The Goal" – Koji Endo
"Ain't Blown Off" – Koji Endo
"Kamachi Comes Alive at nowadays" – Koji Endo
Critical reception
The film generated mixed-to-positive reviews. On the movie site Movie Walker, the film was given predominately positive reviews, garnering a 4 star ranking. On the site FilMarks, the film generated mixed reviews, with a score of 2.6 out of 5.0. On the popular site IMDb, the film had generated a 7.8 out of 10. Director Rokuro Mochizuki's treatment with hip-hop singer Shinya Taniuchi and actress Jun Fubuki, was criticized as being superficial and romanticized.
