Amnesia is one of those medical conditions that might have been invented for the movies. For scriptwriters, it's a godsend — one bump on the hero's head and the story is rolling.
What the movies usually don't get right are the real-life consequences of a massive head trauma wiping out a large chunk of your mental hard drive: a crippling diminishment of self that, if permanent, is tragic.
Nobuhiro Yamashita's new film "Misono Universe (La La La at Rock Bottom)" gives an affecting spin to the amnesia theme, but one with more hard-driving rock music than heavy-going drama. One reference is Yamashita's 2005 film "Linda Linda Linda," which followed the fortunes of an all-girl amateur band to their big gig at a high school festival. Both their title tune, a catchy 1987 hit by The Blue Hearts, and Korean actress Bae Doona's energetic rendition of it in the film's climax, made "Linda Linda Linda" a feel-good international festival favorite.
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