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Post by Neko Bazu on Apr 4, 2008 13:07:21 GMT -1
Unfortunately, it won't be the 'real' Miyazaki any more - as best I recall, his son's taken over, hence the decidedly average reviews for their latest effort Agreed that the animators behind Byousoku really did capture those elements superbly though. I think there've been several times when rewatching the first episode that I've actually found myself looking away from the main action just to admire the effort that's gone into those inconsequential items. You really do get the impression that they went away and studied the real world in great detail just to make sure they caught everything. Makoto Shinkai produced another film too, called Kumo no Mukô, Yakusoku no Basho ('The Place Promised In Our Early Days') which I believe I've downloaded too (or at least have the torrent ready and waiting for it). The plot sounds interesting - in an alternate postwar timeline, Japan is divided into the Union-controlled North and the US-controlled South - and if there's anything like the level of depth there is in Byousoku, it should be another wonderful project. Note to self; search for Egao, Hoshi no Koe and Kanojo to Kanojo no Neko. (They're Shinkai's early work, and will probably give a good indication of how far said producer/writer has come and how likely they may be to take over from Ghibli)
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Post by Neko Bazu on Apr 4, 2008 13:11:18 GMT -1
Also, just out of curiosity; how well did you think they conveyed the various moods in Byousoku? I found that in the first episode especially, I was right in there with the characters - the incident with Takaki's letter in the train station particularly hit me, as did his whole train journey. I've gotten deeply into anime before, and really empathised with characters, but never on the levels I did during those ten minutes or so.
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Post by Travis on Apr 4, 2008 13:20:58 GMT -1
Also, just out of curiosity; how well did you think they conveyed the various moods in Byousoku? I found that in the first episode especially, I was right in there with the characters - the incident with Takaki's letter in the train station particularly hit me, as did his whole train journey. I've gotten deeply into anime before, and really empathised with characters, but never on the levels I did during those ten minutes or so. Well I'll get back in full later this evening Neko, just trying to find out if I can use/convert mkv file for a VCD, wanna give it a watch on a bigger screen and with better sound (my copy is Dolby 3.1 encoded). But for now just let me say that agree totally about the train journey, as each flashback that was punctuated with a delay, I just found myself feeling more and more desperately sympathetic to the young lad. In some ways when they finally met and embraced, I almost wanted it to end there as to that moment it had been perfect, and was worried just in case they undermined matters with a long denouement. Thankfully the decision to follow the couple's night together and their parting the next morning at the station was worth the risk afterall.
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Post by Travis on Apr 5, 2008 19:07:16 GMT -1
Well Neko, I watched it again last night and have absolutely no reservations in agreeing with your assessment totally. Episode One if anything was even more captivating upon a second viewing, especially on a proper screen. Another impressive aspect of the animation that really captured my attention was the way they represented water and glass, and especially how reflections in windows and on surfaces were illustrated. The second episode I found to be markedly more enjoyable too. Minus the huge expectations built up first time out after the simplicity and emotional depth of the story that preceded it, I was able to enjoy it a lot more - especially after I realised it was the same boy....duh! The third tale, although relatively short is a little difficult to untangle and comprehend, and I must admit that I spent about an hour on various forums to try and get something approaching a definitive explanation, or at least a consensus, though still didn't quite manage it. Questions still remain over when Akari and Takaki lost contact, who was responsible and why, albeit it seems very much like the latter has found it much harder to move on. Loved the final shot though, beautifully done and so apt. So how did you interpret it then? At the moment, the way I prefer to see it is that it was Akari, and although she felt tempted to stop and look back for a moment, when the train crossed she thought it time to break with those memories brought back up by the discovery of the letter and just let them remain that. Takaki in contrast was desperately hoping it would be her, but when he'd saw she had gone - had it indeed been her - he knew, especially bearing in mind the location, that it was a clear sign that he should finally move on. I thought that the scene provided a perfect symmetry between the beginning and end of the film, I doubt you could ever better it in that respect.
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Post by Neko Bazu on Apr 5, 2008 20:24:56 GMT -1
I've got to exalt you for that, just for genuinely making me laugh out loud totally unexpectedly! ;D
I really am still torn on how to call that ending too, but I'm certainly not inclined to disagree with you. I think it was purposely left somewhat vague, just to leave something more for the viewer to take away - which frankly is fine with me; I love that kind of ending. Having everything tied up neatly just seems too clumsy to me, oddly.
Reflecting back over the three episodes now that I've had time to let them sink in a little, it really is amazing how much I can identify with in them. The whole of episode two has been the story between one particular girl and me for the last... oh, four years? And it's the first time I've ever been able to appreciate it from her side. I can't do anything about me not being interested in her, but at least I can empathise that bit more now.
I can't think of a single scene in any of it that I can't appreciate on a personal level, though, and I think there are very few people who could say less than half of it has been part of their experience too. Somehow, the whole thing just brings it into that much sharper a focus.
As I said in my review for episode 1 way back, "This is anime." At its finest, anime can be breath-taking, beautiful and insightful. It can even change your outlook on things, even if only in small ways. Byousoku really does have that aspect to it.
I've managed to download Hoshi no Koe and Kumo no Mukô, Yakusoku no Basho, so I'll hopefully have a review for them up sometime in the near future. By all accounts, Byousoku is Shinkai's finest piece, but then I'd be amazed if they ever bettered it!
Given that that's only the fifth work they've ever written and produced, that almost seems a shame...
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Post by Travis on Apr 5, 2008 20:47:47 GMT -1
I've got to exalt you for that, just for genuinely making me laugh out loud totally unexpectedly! ;D I really am still torn on how to call that ending too, but I'm certainly not inclined to disagree with you. I think it was purposely left somewhat vague, just to leave something more for the viewer to take away - which frankly is fine with me; I love that kind of ending. Having everything tied up neatly just seems too clumsy to me, oddly. Reflecting back over the three episodes now that I've had time to let them sink in a little, it really is amazing how much I can identify with in them. The whole of episode two has been the story between one particular girl and me for the last... oh, four years? And it's the first time I've ever been able to appreciate it from her side. I can't do anything about me not being interested in her, but at least I can empathise that bit more now. I can't think of a single scene in any of it that I can't appreciate on a personal level, though, and I think there are very few people who could say less than half of it has been part of their experience too. Somehow, the whole thing just brings it into that much sharper a focus. As I said in my review for episode 1 way back, "This is anime." At its finest, anime can be breath-taking, beautiful and insightful. It can even change your outlook on things, even if only in small ways. Byousoku really does have that aspect to it. I've managed to download Hoshi no Koe and Kumo no Mukô, Yakusoku no Basho, so I'll hopefully have a review for them up sometime in the near future. By all accounts, Byousoku is Shinkai's finest piece, but then I'd be amazed if they ever bettered it! Given that that's only the fifth work they've ever written and produced, that almost seems a shame... Cheers Neko, what can I say? Being a dumbass pays! ;D I dunno what it is, but I'm still at the stage where the Japanese names just don't stick in my mind when I'm watching a lot of anime, not unless they're very short at least. I very much prefer vague or abstract endings to films, it makes for far more compelling discussions, I guess that's why I like David Lynch so much. I must say a lot of it rings very true, and as much as I love 'Cherry Blossoms', I think everyone can acutely identify with one - if not both - of the characters in 'Cosmonaut'. The very ending of the film is perfect though, the fact that Takaki is able to turn a moment of great melancholy into a positive and a new start. I must admit that this - Ghibli aside - is the area of anime that appeals the most, the violent and the more conventially mystical stuff holds far less appeal. If this is only the 5th work, then that would suggest that Shinkai's still builing towards his peak. I hope so.
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Post by Neko Bazu on Apr 5, 2008 21:08:25 GMT -1
I must admit, I generally agree there, though there are some excpetions to the rule (but then you'd expect me to have found them by now ). I think the thing I love about Japanese cinema/TV (and anime especially) is the fact that it tends to provide a lot more scope for discussion, analysis, thought etc once the film/series has finished; certainly when compared to Hollywood and most western TV. As you said, you spent an hour buzzing about on forums and still didn't come up with a definitive answer; you could probably go for five hours and still find new suggestions. How many English-language productions can you say that of in the last ten years, that haven't had to resort to a cliché in the process? On that note, wanna take me up on my hotseat offer to distribute fansubbed anime to anyone who may be interested?
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Post by Travis on Apr 5, 2008 21:18:22 GMT -1
I must admit, I generally agree there, though there are some excpetions to the rule (but then you'd expect me to have found them by now ). I think the thing I love about Japanese cinema/TV (and anime especially) is the fact that it tends to provide a lot more scope for discussion, analysis, thought etc once the film/series has finished; certainly when compared to Hollywood and most western TV. As you said, you spent an hour buzzing about on forums and still didn't come up with a definitive answer; you could probably go for five hours and still find new suggestions. How many English-language productions can you say that of in the last ten years, that haven't had to resort to a cliché in the process? On that note, wanna take me up on my hotseat offer to distribute fansubbed anime to anyone who may be interested? Abstract films are amongst my very favourites. Watch 'Mulholland Drive' Neko, I've spent days discussing it and looking for meaning behind numerous facets of that film! I believe I did take you up on the offer once when discussing Ghibli on the PMs.
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Post by Neko Bazu on Apr 6, 2008 8:09:38 GMT -1
Yes, but we were waiting for the arrivial of my Byousoku DVD, which never came! Just thought I'd double-check I'll dig through my PMs and see if I can find the titles we agreed on.
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Post by Travis on Apr 6, 2008 19:12:28 GMT -1
Yes, but we were waiting for the arrivial of my Byousoku DVD, which never came! Just thought I'd double-check I'll dig through my PMs and see if I can find the titles we agreed on. Just sat through the final episode again, just to try and satisfy my mind on a few issues. I'm now convinced that it was Akari who Takaki passed at the crossing, I think the fact that there was not just one train, but rather two that passed very quickly in opposite directions represented everything Shinkai wanted to say in that scene. For me, it was a subtle piece of symbolism on his part.
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Post by Travis on Apr 14, 2008 12:02:40 GMT -1
THE EYE Wong Kar Mun has been blind since the age of 2, but after over 20 years of darkness, a successful cornea transplant restores her sight. The initial joy and wonder of being able to see the world again is soon tempered by a new disturbing ability she seems to have acquired; she can now see the recently dead, and more disturbingly, those who are about to die. Disturbed by this ability she embarks upon a journey to discover the origin of her corneas and the identity of their dead owner. Haunting rather than terrifying, much in the way of most Asian horror, the film slowly builds to a very effective and tense climax, and the story ties itself up very nicely. A new American version of the film has just hit cinemas; I dare say that after passing through the 'Hollywood filter', it'll be a rather more tepid and less eery affair than the original. 7/10 ___________________________________________________ THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLYThe true life tale of one time Elle editor, Jean-Dominique Bauby who in the prime of his life suffered a stroke that left him completely paralysed, except for one eye. Having dealt with the devastating news after waking from his coma, Jean-Dominique decides with the help of his personal nurses to write a book; a quite extraordinary feat bearing in mind that the only way he could dictate his words were by blinking upon hearing the correct letter as his nurse ran through the alphabet. Filmed entirely from the viewpoint of the patient, the film portrays the suffocating nature of his condition, the frustration of not being able to speak or express himself in the simplest ways; possibly best illustrated as he watches on helplessly as a porter turns off the football game he was watching. A film that very much celebrates the triumphs of human spirit, it also engenders great melancholy, especially at the climax where only 2 days after seeing his book published, Jean-Dominique passes away. 8/10
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Post by Billy on Apr 14, 2008 12:03:58 GMT -1
I'd like to see that movie Trav - is it on DVD?
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Post by Travis on Apr 14, 2008 12:05:01 GMT -1
I'd like to see that movie Trav - is it on DVD? Which one Billy? ;D
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Post by Billy on Apr 14, 2008 12:09:19 GMT -1
oops sorry The one about the French guy
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Post by Travis on Apr 14, 2008 12:10:40 GMT -1
oops sorry The one about the French guy According to Play.com it is due for release on 9th June.
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Post by Billy on Apr 14, 2008 12:31:21 GMT -1
how come you have seen it already? Did you go to the cinema?
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Post by Travis on Apr 14, 2008 12:32:45 GMT -1
how come you have seen it already? Did you go to the cinema? I saw it a while back at the local 'art house' place, the Hyde Park Picture House. Just forgot to review it. ;D
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Post by Billy on Apr 14, 2008 12:44:41 GMT -1
sounds very posh! I should probably read the book as well
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Post by Neko Bazu on Apr 14, 2008 17:28:27 GMT -1
Hoshi no Koe ('The Voices of a Distant Star') Another piece by Makoto Shinkai, and while it's not as stunning as Byousoku 5cm (though that statement really is pretty obvious), it's a delight in its own way. The fourth of his five productions to date, the original release of this video (the one I saw) was done almost entirely by Shinkai himself, with a friend providing the score and his wife voicing the female roles. Everything else is his work - and you can see it quite plainly. The animation is as superb as one would expect from Shinkai - while the characters themselves took a little getting used to visually, the scenery as a whole was breathtaking. Being set in the future, in space, and featuring an alien race, Shinkai had a lot to play with, and clearly took great delight in it. The main theme of the story - love over distance - isn't anything new to his fans, but where Byousoku focuses on young, innocent love in a situation where they lose contact, Hoshi no Koe focuses on a teen couple determined to stay in contact - even when light-years apart, where messages take over 100 days to arrive. In quite an interesting Miyazaki-like approach, it's the girl who goes away to fight aliens in space, and the boy who's left at home waiting. As seems to be another of Shinkai's traits, the story has a debatably happy, debatably melancholy ending, though it certainly finishes on a more positive note than Byousoku - however, it's still by no means a sugary, happy-ever-after ending. And yes, Shinkai's love of using railroad crossings for effect also comes into play again; indeed, one can't help but wonder if they hold a personal significance for him too. While not as poignant or powerful as Byousoku (though this was, as I said, released beforehand), there is still a lot to take away from the 'episode' (the film is half an hour long). In particular, it captures the 'not knowing' part of a long-distance relationship superbly, as well as the desperation it can bring, and in one respect paints a view of the future that honestly left me feeling a little bleak; where long-distance space travel really will eventually cut people off from those they know and love back on Earth. The story and dialogue feel a little clumsy at the beginning, which is a point Byousoku definitely improves on, but by the end they work themselves out nicely. Well worth watching if only to see how Shinkai's work has progressed so far over his brief career; there was a clear step up between Toujou to Toujou no Neko and Hoshi no Koe, and another again to Byousoku. If he can manage to improve again, he really will start making the anime community sit up and take notice (indeed, some are already calling him 'the next Miyazaki', though he himself refutes this suggestion). 7/10
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Post by Travis on Apr 15, 2008 10:59:39 GMT -1
HE LOVES ME, HE LOVES ME NOTAngelique (Audrey Tautou) is a beautiful and talented art student, and she's in love with Loic; a doctor and married man. Despite all Angelique's efforts and the chemistry between the pair, she struggles to persuade Loic to leave his heavily pregnant wife. Indeed despite her warmth, her thoughtfulness and the pair's intimacy, Angelique finds herself ever more frustrated and abandoned as Loic fails to show for countless arranged rendez-vous, culminating in a no show for an especially arranged trip to Florence. The viewer's feelings very much go out to Angelique, a girl hopelessly in love and yet treated with such disdain by the object of her affections.....that is until twist in the tale completely alters the perceptions of the characters. At the halfway point of the movie the story returns to it beginning once more, and suddenly it becomes apparent that what we have learnt so far has been told from the perspective of Angelique, and once Loic's version of events unfolds it soon becomes clear that our sympathies should lie elsewhere. Very much in the 'bunny boiler' sub-genre of film popularised by Fatal Attraction, this is not as visceral a piece as it's predecessor but it's more stylishly directed, better acted and with the cute twist in the middle it makes for a far more enjoyable film. Add to that Audrey Tautou, looking as fine as she ever has done, and we're talking about a "must see" film. 9/10
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