Ghost in the Shell (1995).

Review #2081: Ghost in the Shell.

Cast: 

Atsuko Tanaka (Mj. Motoko Kusanagi), Akio Otsuka (Batou), Iemasa Kayumi (The Puppet Master)

Koichi Yamadera (Togusa), Tamio Ōki (Chief Aramaki), Yutaka Nakano (Ishikawa), Tesshō Genda (Chief Nakamura), Mitsuru Miyamoto (Mizuho Daita), Kazuhiro Yamaji (Garbage Collector A), and Shigeru Chiba (Garbage Collector B) Directed by Mamoru Oshii.

Review: 

"As well as Japanese animation, technology has a huge influence on Japanese society, and also Japanese novels. I think it's because before, people tended to think that ideology or religion were the things that actually changed people, but it's been proven that that's not the case. I think nowadays, technology has been proven to be the thing that's actually changing people. So in that sense, it's become a theme in Japanese culture."

There was always going to be an anime included for a month dedicated to world cinema, so it only makes sense to include this one. Besides, an anime with a useful reputation is worthy to spotlight. Its director in Mamoru Oshii had started making films when studying at Tokyo Gakugei University, but his aim for directing took time because of the sluggish Japanese film industry of the time. He worked at a radio production company before moving on to working for places such as Tatsunoko Production and Studio Pierrot. He worked in storyboard art for a variety of anime, but his first key direction job came with the anime Urusei Yatsura in 1981, where he did direction for a significant portion of the segments of the first two seasons. He became a feature director with the theatrical spinoff film Urusei Yatsura: Only You that was released in 1983, which also happened to be the same year that saw him direct Dallos, considered the first original video animation (basically a direct-to-video anime that boomed with the demand for anime on VCRs). With the OVA in Angel's Egg (1985), it was described as "animated art rather than a story". Oshii continued to work on various anime such as Patlabor (referring to the 1988 anime and the two theatrical films in 1989 and 1993, which he directed) and he added live-action film to his repertoire with The Red Spectacles (1987). He was approached by Bandai Visual to do this film (as opposed to what Oshii was thinking about in making Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade); needing the money, he had no choice but to do it. The screenplay was written by Kazunori Itō as based on the manga of the same name, which had been written by Masamune Shirow for original publication in serialized form in Young Magazine Zōkan Kaizokuban from 1989 to 1991. Oshii stated that due to the original work's "reputation for being difficult to understand", his real task was to structure the film so it would be better to understand, although he posited in later years that since it was released before the Internet became a bigger thing, it would've been a tough task for any director. This is apparently a co-production between Japan and the United Kingdom (as noted by the distribution), with Production I.G providing the animation (the English-language dub apparently includes a song from U2, but you already know how much I don't regard English dubs of films with their own native dub). The ensuing quarter-century has ensued some interesting follow-ups, which has included three television animes, and three separate films; Oshii directed a stand-alone sequel to the original film in 2004 with Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence. The original Shell had an "updated version" called 2.0 in 2008 that had updated animations in tandem with original footage to go with a collection of revised sequences that involves further use of CG (compare for yourself if curious, because I sure as hell didn't watch 2.0) that happened to recast the voice role for The Puppet Master character while seemingly matching more in line with the aforementioned Innocence film. A live-action adaptation film of the manga was released in 2017.

Evidently, the film has garnered a high-quality reputation among anime and sci-fi fans. James Cameron called it the "the first truly adult animation film to reach a level of literary and visual excellence" (no disrespect to Cameron, but Akira (1988) exists). It inspired The Wachowskis, who apparently showed the film to a producer and said "We wanna do that for real" that eventually led to the creation The Matrix (1999). This all came for a film that was actually a box office flop on original release and was only a hit when it came to home video. I was fine with the film despite the fact that 82 minutes seems a bit oddly short to really encapsulate a film about identity in an age of information, but it is a fairly captivating feature, nonetheless. Beneath the babble of cybernetics and elements that may or may not dwell in noir is someone who tries and succeeds in kicking some ass for a film that happens to show a bit of nudity and a song told in ancient Japanese (at least one won't be calling it a pastiche of Blade Runner (1982)). The climax includes both a fight with a tank and a philosophical conversation about the nature of evolution and awareness. Its interpretation of 2029 (34 years away in 1995) involves plenty of wires and sprawling features of a big city that is generally involving within familiar character-types that keep your attention while one eventually gets a grip on the story (it is best to call it a human story and leave it to you). Tanaka plays this role with the contemplative confidence that it requires, one who seems at ease with the mechanical requirements that come in procedure that nevertheless must confront the inevitable question that comes with wondering just what is rattling in those parts of her deep within the cybernetics. This goes well with the level-headed Otsuka for a useful pairing of people that aren't just shaped by distinct body parts (eyes, what have you...) or no external ones at all in the ordinary Yamadera. Kayumi makes a suitable figure for looking in to where the line is drawn between man and product or more specifically, the line between the infinite and the one (the biggest adversary after all is, well, a tank, unless one counts conspiracies). I think this is a film I would possibly appreciate more the next time around, because I did enjoy it best when looking at its style in terms of action and body horror (consider the opening sequence, which has a well-timed splatter and disguise), which generally means I would recommend it for those who are curious enough to view and engage with its questions and general pacing that fits for those wanting to look for a time within the cyberpunk.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.

Last one up: Closing out the month with The Harder They Come. 

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.

Review #1233: Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.

Cast: 
Sumi Shimamoto (Nausicaä), Gorô Naya (Yupa), Yôji Matsuda (Asbel), Yoshiko Sakakibara (Kushana), Iemasa Kayumi (Kurotowa), Ichirō Nagai (Mito), Hisako Kyōda (Obaba), Minoru Yada (Niga), Mahito Tsujimura (Muzu), Kōhei Miyauchi (Gol), Jōji Yanami (Gikkuri), Mahito Tsujimura (King Jihl), Miina Tominaga (Lastelle), Makoto Terada (Mayor of Pejite), Akiko Tsuboi (Lastelle's Mother), Rihoko Yoshida (Teto / Girl C) Directed by Hayao Miyazaki (#1111 - Spirited Away)

Review: 
Hayao Miyazaki had a great interest in animation ever since viewing a film named Panda and the Magic Serpent (1958); although he soon graduated from university in 1963 with degrees in political science and economics, he found work at Toei Animation. Over the next few years, he worked on a variety of projects such as chief animator for The Great Adventure of Horus, Prince of the Sun (1968), writing and illustrating numerous mangas before leaving Toei in 1971; he continued work with animation, contributing to anime series and shorts before moving to Tokyo Movie Shinsha, where he directed his first feature in The Castle of Cagliostro (1979). In the following five years, he kept busy, with one of his works being a manga named Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind that began in February of 1982. It proved to be a fair success, leading to him going an adaptation to film, writing the screenplay for a movie that had only sixteen chapters of manga to work with (with the manga running until 1994). Topcraft was the anime studio that helped in making the film; they went bankrupt the following year, with the buyers of the studio (Miyazaki, Toshio Suzuki and Isao Takahata) becoming founders of a new animation studio - Studio Ghibli.

With all of that in mind, it should prove no surprise that this is a wonderful entertaining film, worthy of viewing by anyone looking for a sensibly well-crafted tale that stands tall as a pillar of animation. It is a film that shines on its animation and story, having plenty of depth and moments to view and be entranced by, challenging the viewer and not letting them wander for any sort of time through its 117 minute run-time. The film's main focus is nature itself and how it flows throughout life - whether it is through clean air or toxic ones, as is the case with the latter, owing to Miyazaki and being inspired by mercury poisoning of Minamata Bay in Japan that had occurred in the late 1950s. It travels on story-types of the past when dealing with its nature and focus on life, but it never attempts to boil itself in cliche good-and-evil traps - it keeps itself in check with a focus on environment and maintaining oneself without having to resort to basic fear and greed and fighting over what one does not know or understand. The cast does not break with holding up such lofty ambition in storytelling, particularly with Shimamoto, wonderfully earthly and captivating to be around throughout this adventure, with a climax that helps seal her fate as a memorable heroine for film. The others made their moments on screen count, such as Naya and Sakakibara, with no true weak-link present here. On the whole, the movie cultivates a vision for itself that never seems blurred while playing its hand with the right kind of patience, letting its story play out with a sense of balance and subtlety that makes one appreciate how animation can let creativity play out on such a grand scale. The following year, New World Pictures released an edited version of the film in America named Warriors of the Wind - an English dub lasting 95 minutes that Miyazaki was not pleased with (there of course exists a 2003 English dub that makes no cuts to the original film). In the past 35 years since this film's release, Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli have thrived with showcasing numerous stories into film, with him directing nine features and the studio having released 21 features into theaters - and it isn't hard to see why that it is the case with this one, an adventure for the ages that captivates with its animation and an entertaining story that proves perfect for inquisitive viewers of all ages.

Overall, I give it 10 out of 10 stars.