Baunsu ko gaurusu (Bounce KO Gals) poster & wallpaper
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Hitomi Sato, Yasue Sato, Yukiko Okamoto, Jun Murakami, Shin Yazawa ... see more see more... , Kaori Momoi , Koji Yakusho

Ripped straight from the headlines of 1990s Japan, this film directed by Masato Harada explores the ticklish issue of enjo kosai -- a much-hyped phenomenon in which Tokyo schoolgirls (kogyaru) go on p... read more read more...aid dates with lecherous middle-aged men. Set in the ultra-fashionable neighborhood of Shibuya, this film details a day in the lives of such freewheeling young women. Bounce Ko Gals opens with Raku (Yasue Sato) accompanying her round-faced friend Maru (Shin Yazawa) to an after-school abortion. After that minor medical inconvenience, Maru meets up with a prospective john -- a suavely dressed cat named Oshima (played by the ubiquitous Koji Yakusho). Unfortunately, Oshima proves to be a yakuza running a brothel out of a date club, and he regards Maru and her cohorts as unwanted competition. When one of Maru's pals, Jonko (Hitomi Sato) -- a street-smart, stun gun-wielding enjo kosai who prefers to swipe the cash from her clients instead of exchanging fluids with them -- tries to negotiate with the mobster on her friend's behalf, she finds herself unwittingly forced into Oshima's stable of whores. At the same time, while parading around town in a naughtily tailored schoolgirl uniform for a porn-flick guerrilla shoot, Raku runs into Risa (Yukiko Okamoto), a young lass who finally scraped together enough money for a long-planned trip to New York by selling her panties and consorting with perverts. When Raku's shoot is busted by a couple of punks and Risa's savings are stolen, the two flee into a nearby park. As Risa grows ever more despondent, Raku hatches a scheme to recoup her new friend's 100,000- yen savings before her departure the following day. Not surprisingly, this plan involves enjo kosai . Bounce was screened at the 1998 Rotterdam Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Flixster Users

89% liked it

131 ratings

Critics

53% liked it

15 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 50 min.

Directed by: Masato Harada

Release Date: October 18, 1997

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DVD Release Date: June 20, 2006

Stats: 19 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (19)

  • alanjayh
    January 2, 2010
    alanjayh
    Not a sexual movie but it deals with selling sex. This movie has a lot of heart and I enjoyed it alot. It basically follows the activity of the 3 youngfemale characters for one night. The script is smart and the acting is spot on by the entire casr. It will hold your interes... read moret, with plenty of drama and suspense. See it!

View All Baunsu ko gaurusu (Bounce KO Gals) Reviews

Critic Reviews

Frank Scheck
October 23, 2003
Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter

Manages the difficult feat of being simultaneously sordid and tedious at the same time.

Dave Kehr
October 2, 2003
Dave Kehr, New York Times

Bounce Ko Gals feels fabricated, studio-bound and claustrophobic, which doesn't add to the ripped-from-the-headlines authenticity this genre has always depended on. Full Review

Michael Atkinson
September 30, 2003
Michael Atkinson, Village Voice

The movie frames a critique of socially permissible pedophilia as indelible as Harada's eavesdropping mise-en-scène. Full Review

Rex Roberts
February 22, 2007
Rex Roberts, Film Journal International

Foreign film buffs who enjoyed Lost in Translation may find it worthwhile to revisit Japan with a native guide. Full Review

Brian Mckay
November 16, 2003
Brian Mckay, eFilmCritic.com

a drama that focuses on the seedy world of Japanese schoolgirl prostitution - wins points for trying to tackle a hard subject, albeit with velvet gloves. Full Review

Marcy Dermansky
October 7, 2003
Marcy Dermansky, About.com

Three Japanese teens bounce from scenes of seedy underworld horror (and kink) to school-girl giggles. These final giggles that will hold you spell-bound. Full Review

Jeremiah Kipp
October 6, 2003
Jeremiah Kipp, Filmcritic.com

[E]xpressive and often funny, but never deep or poetic. Full Review

Ken Fox
October 3, 2003
Ken Fox, TV Guide's Movie Guide

Despite the lurid material, director Masato Harada's intelligent drama takes a refreshingly non-exploitative look at Japan's real-life sex industry and its relationship to an increasingly youth-orient... Full Review

Jon Popick
October 3, 2003
Jon Popick, Planet Sick-Boy

Depressing, even with the uplifting finale. Full Review

Eric Campos
October 1, 2003
Eric Campos, Film Threat

It's a down and dirty look at the world of the ko gals, but it has class. Full Review

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