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{{about|the Japanese film||Hula (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Hula Girls
| image          = Hula Girls.jpg
| director       = [[Lee Sang-il (film director)|Sang-il Lee]]
| producer       = {{plainlist|
*[[Bong-Ou Lee]]
*[[Hiroshi Kawai]]
*[[Yoshiaki Hosono]]
    }}
| writer         = {{plainlist|
*Sang-il Lee
*Daisuke Habara
    }}
| starring       = {{plainlist|
*[[Yasuko Matsuyuki]]
*[[Etsushi Toyokawa]]
*[[Yū Aoi]]
*[[Ittoku Kishibe]]
*[[Sumiko Fuji]]
    }}
| music          = [[Jake Shimabukuro]]
| cinematography = [[Hideo Yamamoto (cinematographer)|Hideo Yamamoto]]
| editing        = Tsuyoshi Imai
| distributor    = Cinequanon
| released       = {{Film date|2006|09|23}} 
| runtime        = 120 minutes
| country        = [[Japan]]
| language       = [[Japanese language|Japanese]]
| gross          = $9,480,415<ref name="Boxofficemojo">[https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/intl/?page=&country=JP&id=_fHULAGRU01 "''Hula Girls''"]. [[Boxofficemojo]]. Retrieved March 04, 2012.</ref>
}}
{{nihongo|'''''Hula Girls'''''|フラガール|Fura gāru}} is a Japanese film, directed by [[Lee Sang-il (film director)|Sang-il Lee]] and co-written by Lee and Daisuke Habara, and first released across Japanese theaters on September 23, 2006. Starring [[Yū Aoi]], [[Yasuko Matsuyuki]], [[Etsushi Toyokawa]], [[Shizuyo Yamazaki]], [[Ittoku Kishibe]], [[Eri Tokunaga (actress)|Eri Tokunaga]], [[Yoko Ikezu]] and [[Sumiko Fuji]], it is based on the real-life event of how a group of enthusiastic girls take on [[hula|hula dancing]] to save their small mining village, [[Iwaki, Fukushima|Iwaki]], helping the formation of [[Spa Resort Hawaiians|Joban Hawaiian Center]] (now known as Spa Resort Hawaiians), which was later to become one of Japan's most popular theme parks.<ref name="kakiseni">{{cite web|url=http://www.kakiseni.com/events/film/OTgzMA.html|title=Kakiseni.com - Hula Girls|access-date=2007-08-24|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927035648/http://www.kakiseni.com/events/film/OTgzMA.html|archive-date=2007-09-27}}</ref><ref name="camera">{{cite web|url=http://www.cameracinemas.com/cgi-bin/movies.cgi?cmd=dm&m=15-42-53-6-26-2007-5585|title=Hula Girls|access-date=2007-08-24|archive-date=2007-09-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070917002040/http://www.cameracinemas.com/cgi-bin/movies.cgi?cmd=dm&m=15-42-53-6-26-2007-5585|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="keio">{{cite web|url=http://www.dmc.keio.ac.jp/en/review/0611_AFM_filmintro2.html|title=Hula Girls|publisher=Research Institute for Digital Media and Content, [[Keio University]]|access-date=2007-08-24|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070817050016/http://www.dmc.keio.ac.jp/en/review/0611_AFM_filmintro2.html|archive-date=2007-08-17}}</ref> It received its premiere at the [[Toronto International Film Festival]].

''Hula Girls'' was critically acclaimed upon release in Japan<ref name="hk">{{cite web|url=http://lovehkfilm.com/panasia/hula_girls.htm|title=Hula Girls (JAPAN 2006)|access-date=2007-08-24}}</ref> and nominated for a total of 12 awards at the 2007 [[Japan Academy Prize (film)|Japan Academy Awards]], going on to win five major awards, including that of best film, best director, best screenplay, best supporting actress (for [[Yū Aoi]]), and most popular film.<ref name="hk"/><ref name="imdb-awards">{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0768116/awards|title=Hula gâru (2006) - Awards|publisher=[[Internet Movie Database]]|access-date=2007-08-24}}</ref> It also won two major awards at the 80th [[Kinema Junpo]] awards, including that of best film and best supporting actress (for [[Yū Aoi]]).<ref name="imdb-awards"/> Since its release in Japan, the film has been shown across theaters and film festivals worldwide.<ref name="kakiseni"/><ref name="seattle">{{cite web|url=http://www.seattlefilm.org/festival/film/detail.aspx?id=22198&fid=32|title=Hula Girls (Hula Garu)|publisher=[[Seattle International Film Festival|2007 Seattle International Film Festival]]|access-date=2007-08-24|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://archive.today/20070518155533/http://www.seattlefilm.org/festival/film/detail.aspx?id=22198&fid=32|archive-date=2007-05-18}}</ref> It was selected as the Japanese entry for the [[Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Best Foreign Language Film]] at the [[79th Academy Awards]], but it was not nominated.

==Story==
In 1965, the cold, northern [[coal mining]] town of [[Iwaki, Fukushima|Iwaki]], faces decline and crushing unemployment as cheaper oil quickly becomes the dominant energy source in Japan. To provide for its workers, the mining company develops a plan to use [[hot spring]]s, which seeped into the mines, to provide heat for a "Hawaiian Center" spa resort. The plan is greeted with hostility by the conservative blue-collar miners, but the company recruits Madoka Hirayama (Matsuyuki) a down-on-her-luck dance instructor from [[Tokyo]], to train local girls in the [[hula]].

At first, only a small core group take the challenge. Sanae ([[Eri Tokunaga (actress)|Tokunaga]]) is worried that her widowed father will lose his job, and the ability to support the four kids. She convinces her lifelong best friend Kimiko (Aoi) to join her at the disastrous first meeting. After the rumor runs through attendees that they will be dancing topless, Sanae and Kimiko seem to be the only two listening to the assurances that the rumor is false, as dozens of their companions flee. The two girls are joined by Hatsuko (Ikezu), the organizer's secretary, and Sayuri (Yamazaki), a large clumsy girl.

Things go poorly as training begins, and a frustrated Hirayama nearly gives up, until the girls' enthusiasm persuades her to give the plan another try. Kimiko and her mother, Chiyo (Fuji), have an argument, which prompts the girl to leave home to stay at the school, but as training continues and local unemployment looms, some of the other girls come back and join the school.

On the day that Sanae's father is fired, he comes home to find her in Hawaiian costume and beats her. This outrages Hirayama, who attacks him. When he leaves town to search for better prospects, Sanae goes with him to take care of her siblings, after getting Kimiko, who has become the leader of the girls, to promise that she will keep going.

Crushed by the departure of her friend, Kimiko finds it impossible to maintain the focus needed in dancing but is told "[[the show must go on]]". She does not accept this until her brother (Toyokawa) tells her to see it through. She pulls herself together in time to join the publicity tour.

After a disastrous first performance in the tour, the girls come together as a team and the tour is a great success, until a mine accident in which Sayuri's father is gravely injured. Told of the accident just before the last planned performance, the troupe prepares to leave for home so they can care for their loved ones. Knowing that her father wants her to succeed, Sayuri begs for the chance to finish the tour. The bus pulls into town hours after Sayuri's father dies, and as distraught family and friends berate her, Hirayama claims responsibility for not returning immediately and prepares to leave only to be stopped by her students.

However, the imported [[palm tree]]s for the resort's grand opening are threatened by cold weather. A package from Sanae arrives for Kimiko. Her mother, Chiyo, brings it to the dance studio, where she sees the skills her daughter has gained. Chiyo takes a job as a scrap collector to give her daughter the chance to live her dream. She even attends the opening night of the show, at which Kimiko wears the flower sent by Sanae.

The opening show is a great success, establishing the Joban Hawaiian Center as a tourist destination.

==Locations featured in film==
*[[Fukushima Prefecture]]
**[[Iwaki, Fukushima|Iwaki]]
**[[Furudono, Fukushima|Furudono]], [[Ishikawa District, Fukushima|Ishikawa District]]
**[[Spa Resort Hawaiians]] (actual spa resort located in Iwaki)<ref name="hk"/>
*[[Ibaraki Prefecture]]
**[[Kitaibaraki, Ibaraki|Kitaibaraki]]
**[[Takahagi, Ibaraki|Takahagi]]
**[[Nakaminato Station]] (located in [[Hitachinaka, Ibaraki|Hitachinaka]])

==Reception==
===Critical response===
''Hula Girls'' has an approval rating of 56% on [[review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], based on 18 reviews, and an average rating of 5.6/10.<ref>https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hula_girls</ref> [[Metacritic]] assigned the film a weighted average score of 53 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".<ref>https://www.metacritic.com/movie/hula-girls?ftag=MCD-06-10aaa1c</ref>

===Awards and nominations===
''Hula Girls'' won several awards upon release, including five major awards at the 2007 [[Japan Academy Prize (film)|Japan Academy Awards]], including that of best film, best director, best screenplay, best supporting actress (for [[Yū Aoi]]), and most popular film.<ref name="hk"/><ref name="imdb-awards"/> It also won best film and supporting actress award (for [[Yū Aoi]]) at the 80th Kinema Junpō awards, held on January 9, 2007. At the 31st Hōchi Film Awards, held on November 28, 2006, it won the awards for best film and supporting actress, while at the 19th Nikkan Sports Awards, held on December 5, 2006, it won the awards for best film, best actress (for [[Yasuko Matsuyuki]]), best supporting actress (for [[Sumiko Fuji]]) and best new talent (for [[Yū Aoi]]). At the 61st [[Mainichi Film Award]]s, held on January 19, 2007, it won the awards for best supporting actress (for [[Yū Aoi]]) and best film. At the 49th [[Blue Ribbon Awards]], it won the awards for best film, best actress (for [[Yū Aoi]]) and best supporting actress (for Sumiko Fuji).<ref name="hk"/> It was also chosen for Japan's entry for the [[Submissions for the 79th Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film|79th]] [[Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film]].

==Production notes==
The dancers spent three months learning and becoming skilled in hula.

The character Madoka Hirayama is loosely based on Kaleinani Hayakawa, the original [[kumu hula]] at Joban, who stayed for 32 years, while also becoming the founder of the first hula school in Japan.  Her work helped inspire the hula craze in Japan.

==See also==
*[[Cinema of Japan]]
* [[List of submissions to the 79th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film]]
*[[List of Japanese submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0768116/ Hula Girls] at the [[Internet Movie Database]].

{{Lee Sang-il}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for ''Hula Girls''
|list =
{{Japan Academy Prize for Best Film}}
{{Japanese submissions for the Academy Award}}
{{Blue Ribbon Award for Best Film}}
{{Hochi Film Award for Best Film}}
{{Kinema Junpo Award for Best Film}}
{{Mainichi Film Award for Excellence Film}}
}}

[[Category:2000s Japanese-language films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Sang-il Lee]]
[[Category:2006 films]]
[[Category:Comedy films based on actual events]]
[[Category:Films set in the 1960s]]
[[Category:Japanese comedy films]]
[[Category:Picture of the Year Japan Academy Prize winners]]
[[Category:2006 comedy films]]
[[Category:Best Film Kinema Junpo Award winners]]
[[Category:New People films]]
[[Category:Hula]]
[[Category:2000s Japanese films]]
[[Category:Films set in Fukushima Prefecture]]
[[Category:Films set in Ibaraki Prefecture]]
[[Category:Japanese-language comedy films]]