La La La at Rock Bottom

Fresh out of prison, Shigeo is minding his own business when a van pulls up and snatches him. A group of strange men beat him senseless and leave him in the street, bloodied and bruised. When he comes to, he can’t remember anything, including his own identity. A young woman named Kasumi finds him and takes him in. She puts him to work at her shop, nicknaming him Pooch. Kasumi also manages a band, whose members are preparing for an important gig. After their lead singer is injured, she discovers Pooch has a pretty impressive set of pipes. Singing jars his memory, allowing him to remember bits and pieces of his former life. The details are still fuzzy, though, until an old acquaintance sees a flyer for Pooch’s concert. This leads to unpleasant revelations and the realization that Pooch’s past may have been better kept a mystery (sometimes, the clean slate of amnesia can be a gift). Can the ghosts of his past unravel the new person he’s become? In LA LA LA AT ROCK BOTTOM, ignorance may indeed be bliss. (In Japanese with subtitles) –E.F.