This is a story about a Belgium high school girl's start in her career as a comic strip author just as she graduates, and what she did, or was trying to do, to land her first contract to produce a strip out of her workshop in her mother's house. Most of the movie is about her nascent storyline, with her as the hero who must triumph, as she draws and works out the Manja-style comic strip. Now, most of her story involves seedy adult Eurotrash working in the Tokyo sex trade and the the Japanese men who exploit them in porno rituals to entertain corporate salary-men. The presence of the young Belgium high school girl provides a startling, even unsettling note since she looks not a day older than 15 years. The first clue that the story is imaginary is seeing that child anywhere near the Tokyo Ginga district. In one odd scene she objects to dressing up as a 9 year old, and all the while on her the costume appears not out of place. There is some soft-core porn. This is a great film, and a great way to see a modern EU coming of age story. The entire perspective of the film is grounded in Geneva, in spite of the Tokyo locale.
Review of Stratosphere Girl
