Oppai barê (2009) Reviews

• where are the breasts?

  acl-842302018-01-30

  I believe this film is deceptive. I watched it from start to finish and there were no breasts. Just the promise of breasts... Did I watch a censored version? I hope the kids got an eyeful at the end. I didn't. The teacher is so beautiful.

• Perfect lightheartedness

  ewevrij2010-01-09

  Perfect lightheartedness. The basic concept of a young teacher stumbling clumsily into a promise of flashing her boobs to the schools looser volleyball team if they will win, turns like a frog into a prince by a delicate script, sensitive directing and an Audrey Hepburn/Audrey Tautou kind of lead actress. The film doesn't lie about it's simplicity, but it deals with it in admirably good taste. It's by no means a American pie-(or worse)-clone, or even "ecchi", and has even a sort of 50'ish feel to it, which is quite an accomplishment given scene's like: A group of pupils are running uphill behind a bicycling teacher with a whistle, while yelling " tits,tits" as encouragement song. It's a warm hearted feel good comedy. Nothing more, nothing less, but very well done. The only minus point would be that beside the lead actress the other roles stay sketchy: Having an Audrey Hepburn, it misses a Cary Grant. Not as a romantic angle, the film doesn't have nor need that. It's about how to inspire adolescents in a teacher- pupil relationship, and having the heart in the right place.The lather is something the teacher needs to trust more as her core virtue, but she doesn't discover that by counter play based on character development in her pupils, her co-teacher,her ex boy-friend or, her principal, but by a side story about her past. In itself very sweet, but dramaturgically it keeps the film light and nostalgic, where it could have gained some depth. Neverteless it's an truly enjoyable movie. Such a pity that films like that often get underrated.

• A Movie That Does Not Deliver What It Promises

  Larry-Donalds2018-09-03

  Students demand to see sexy and super slim teacher's boobs if the teacher wants them to succeed and become engaged in volleyball. The teacher demurs but soon agrees. Students succeed. Where is the boobs? Not in the film. Perhaps in the DVD extras (joking)? What a tease and disappointment. Anyway the girls and the teacher are lovely eye candies, but I have seen more of the teacher's rack in photos of her modelling than in this film. PS: Also unrealistic: girl is so pretty, so thin and has long hair and boobage and no boyfriend???

• How to inspire your (male) students to work hard, or not!

  Elstree2009-07-08

  Be careful how you make your promises. How do you encourage and inspire a group of students (boys) into working hard towards a goal, whose only focus in life is the size of the female chest? By promising them to show them yours, of course! That's exactly the kind of promise the main character Mikako Terashima (Haruka Ayase) has made to her students, albeit not willingly and intentionally, if they win a volleyball match, hence the movie title translated to English: Breast Volleyball. You see, as a young and inexperienced teacher on her first day at her new school, she is put in charge of the boys' volleyball team, but unknown to her is that these boys have no interest to play "ball", except the female kind. And if this leads you to think this film is risqué, you are wrong. The film is funny (my favorite: downhill on a bicycle and wheelchair trying to hit the "magic" 80mph!) and touching and inspiring in other parts, but Haruka Ayase fails to show the acting range she has in Cyborg Girl (Boku no kanojo wa saibôgu), then again, this story does not have the range or depth either. Nevertheless, we can identify clearly with the dilemma and predicament Mikako faces in front of her students, peers and superiors, and cheering for the underdog to win at the competition. Breasts (of Haruka Ayase) or no breasts, it is a delightful 102 minutes to watch...leaving the cinema thinking of my French teacher in high school and one of her blouses....

• Fantastic !

  ebiros22012-12-20

  Hahaha, this movie is so funny. Group of 6 students in a volleyball team comes up with many crazy ideas, the first of them being if they can see their coach's boobs if they won a game. Based on a novel by Munenori Mizuno , Oppai Balei or Oppai Volleyball is based on his story he's heard from a real life Volleyball coach's experience. But he's added many more comical and funny ideas into this story. First I thought, maybe the story would be kind of wooden, but I was wrong in this regard. Actions of members of the volleyball team more than made up for the action needed to make this into a truly great movie. The story is very original, and the characters are all well developed. This is one of the best acted Japanese movie of all times. I'm giving this movie 4/5. Which is outstanding for a movie of this budget. Needless to say that this is one of the best movie to come out of Japan.