Short Movie Reviews

I read moviez and I wants to write aboot them, ok!

1. Stalker (1979)
Directed by Tarovsky, Stalker is one of those very Russian films – sparse dialogue, emphasis on cinematography, and an abundance of nature. Man not merely separated from nature but part of it. The film seems to emphasize how industrialization changes society – the first part, the first 30 minutes or so, is full of faded color and urban landscapes. Then the film switches – color is introduced as we see a transition in to lush, green rural Russia. One masterful feature of the film is the framing: images are portrayed intimately without feeling zoomed up.

The cinematography, along with brief snippets of music, captures a distinctive world: it is a Russia seemingly without full industrialization, a Russia that is distinct from characteristic images of the Soviet day. This film captures an alternate Russia, one that has features of 20^th century Russia but is also distinct – through this lens, we can see how encroaching industrialization impacts people’s lives. A stalker, the film reveals, is someone who escapes urban life to enter the Zone, which can supposedly fulfill desires. However, the Stalker later tearfully admits that one gets caught up in worldly desires, especially the craving for money. 

Stalker ponders life itself and how humans can change with industrial progress. Through excellent directing, the film captures impressive scenery while moving slowly, creating a stronger impact. However, this slow but necessary pace does get in the way of personal enjoyment. Because of its themes and portrayals of Russia, the film is absolutely worth watching.

2. Tales of Vesperia: First Strike (2009)

Tales of Vesperia: First Strike is a prologue movie, meant to be seen in conjunction with playing the game Tales of Vesperia. The film, as a result, focuses on the characters Yuri and Flynn, who appear as main characters in the game. Specifically, ToV:FS tracks Yuri and Flynn’s and others time as Royal Knights – those familiar with the game would know that Yuri drops out whereas Flynn does not, setting the stage for a sub-plot behind the film.

However, this film serves a broader purpose: to acquaint the viewers with the world itself, not simply add details for the seasoned fan. With this development, we learn that Yuri is apathetic but also quick-tempered – he is not a person who enjoys excessive rigor and having to temper his tongue. Flynn is rather similar to Yuri in many ways – however, Flynn is more obviously a highminded person who wants to accomplish good in whatever manner he can. In a sense, they are both self-centered, which leads to conflict. Though the film is geared for a general audience, it is bogged down with terms such as “aer” or “blastia” that have to do with the particulars of the world.

Despite this overexposition, this film is a fun fantasy adventure, though it is improved through familiar with the game. The movie tends to be slow but it uses such opportunities to build the characters. With a climax only minutes from the end, the film keeps you on edge. The jerk is satisfyingly and brutally slain. Throughout, the bright visuals and clean animation are also quite compelling – clearly someone put a lot of money into this film.

3. Expelled from Paradise (2014)
CG, yes CG. I was quite worried beginning a work with computer-generated graphics but to my surprise it was well-implemented. (The head movements still seem far too jerky to provide an accurate depiction – here is where the CG seems least bearable.) Though I prefer non-CG, the experimentation was interesting. The main character Angela Balzac, who lives as a digitized human on the space ship Deva, is forced to use a physical body during her time on Earth – I believe that the clunkiness of the CG well represents her character as being completely unused to this unfamiliar body. However, the CG cannot be excused as much for other characters.

Expelled from Paradise centers around the idea of human evolution and offers the solution that humans become digitized and lose their physical bodies. Having such a corporeal form, to the beings living on Deva, is a relic, only fit for dying out humans left on Earth – the uncivilized humans. To them, Deva is an utter paradise, fitting because the word Deva refers to a divine being in both Hinduism and Buddhism. When Angela has to head to Earth to find a hacker threatening the people of Deva, she is disgusted by the planet, especially at the idea of having a physical body. She meets a man named Dingo, who, through his guitar playing, teaches her about the value of having such a corporeal form. Music is at its most powerful when it can be felt -  classical music that can soothe your muscle tension, or  metal that can raise your heart rate.

The film presents some rather interesting themes, though they are not completely explored, which provides for an intellectually stimulating work. The ending is centered around fighting, which shifts the emphasis towards fighting off the bad people, rather than further exploring themes. I really enjoyed the film’s consideration of the relationship between an individual and society, especially what happens when an individual is cast out. Aristotle, for example, believed that a person cast outside of society is either a god or a monster, which summarizes the latter half of the movie well. Expelled from Paradise is a comparatively fast-paced film which makes it worthwhile even though it has some squandered potential.

4. Rebellion (2013)
With sweeping strings that enter a few seconds in “Colorful” by ClariS, through its upbeat and invigorating sound, provides a burst of energy into the introduction of the film Rebellion, which is a sequel to the anime show Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Asides from the song’s stylistic role in the intro, it aptly describes the visual aesthetics of the entire film – even as the film takes on noir tones that heavily rely on shadow, there is an excess of color always present, giving vibrancy to the background.

 Through this style, the film can explore darker themes while not feeling overly indulgent in grimness. The film features expansive perspectives, showing us that the characters are part of their backgrounds, not simply individuals in a sea of nothing. (This approach is reminiscent of that which is explored in Stalker, at least to me.) The film also makes use of dioramas and other creative artistic devices – reminiscent of Monty Python albeit more serious.

Owing to the art style, clarity does suffer somewhat, making many scenes rather confusing. As a work of art, Rebellion refuses to reveal its secrets too soon. As a result, pacing does seem rather slow for the first 15-20 minutes, but once the movie picks up it hardly slows down, except when it comes time for a conclusion. Through watching, I found myself feeling especially connected to Homura, who is apparently cast as a villain – I felt that she chose to take up Madoka’s role rather than allow Madoka to suffer, which is a rather  courageous action. In short, it reminded me of Those Who Walk Away from Omelas, which captured a similar exploration of utilitarianism. In the Madoka universe, apparently the few suffering for the good is not without consequences. Out of the movies I saw recently, this was my favorite.

An Update, and a Review of Gundam 0079-0080

Bonjour, bonjour, bonjour. I am still alive as you can see from a different post from today! I have been busy with a multitude of tasks but they boil down to these: research, grad school apps, writing an academic manuscript, NaNoWriMo, and a lot of anime watching. All of these tasks unfortunately prohibit me from updating regularly or actually being decent with my (possibly nonexistent) readers. The same blog ideas that I have shared will still see attention (some of them at least). However, I may widen my intended range of posts to capture the immense amount of anime I have covered.

I wanted to spare a few thoughts on Gundam 0080. After seeing Gundam 0079, I was wanting a more nuanced depiction of Mobile Suits. In my opinion, 0080 gave me that. Admittedly the first couple of episodes were alright, focusing on characters and not giving enough of an emphasis on the themes. Al and his friends - all in elementary school - were extremely immature and it was painful to watch them get so hyped on war. One of my concerns starts there - a girl in their class tries to argue about mobile suits and I felt that the OVA series swept her aside when she provided an alternative perspective. Greater effort with her character could have added nuance. However, she is receptive when Al starts crying at the assembly at the end, seemingly empathizing with his newfound feelings on war. Christina and Bernie also provide guidance to Al.  Both seem fairly stereotypical at first, but I felt that both get some degree of fleshing out. By the end, you are saddened to hear about what happens to them and how things play out. Ultimately, through these characters - I suppose his parents play a role but they are portrayed as mostly distant - we see a shift in Al. He grows to hate war in a convincing manner, even if his initial motivations were super dubious.

Gundam 0080 did not focus on the fighting like 0079 but rather thought about the effects of that fighting. Here civilians were injured, millions of dollars of damage incurred, all because of the war - because of both the attacker and the defender. The setting itself was far more civilian, so the effects seem much more personal than in 0079 - we get to see a macro result of war, that of destruction and harm. I believe that this particular setting, one of peace, gives Christina an opportunity to play a role, seemingly outside of gender expectations. She is both a data analyst and a Gundam pilot, both of which seemed to be reserved for males in 0079, and can be seen to be a capable but compassionate person. Certainly a worthy role model for Al and certainly gives 0080 much more feminist points than 0079.

I would go into further depth about 0080 but I feel that such a discussion would make more sense as I progress into the series. I enjoyed how Bernie learned the horrors of war, as a rookie, before his life teaches Al these same lessons, giving thematic continuity. Never did I pause and think "gee, these messages are pretty inconsistent!"  However, in that same lens, I wished that Al had gotten to talk to Chris about the Gundam and the events that occurred; that would likely be "overexplaining" but I would be interested to see how she would respond. I believe that such a scene would cement Al's growth. However, Al crying during the assembly and the girl bringing the teacher to him provided a satisfying conclusion - he is both reaching out to others and understands what was wrong with his eagerness for war. He stands as a stark contrast from his friends who are disappointed that the war is over and expect the next one to be bigger, flashier (with more mobile suits). That's why, in my opinion, the last 15 minutes of the 6-episode OVA series are really good and manage to capture the series' essence.

0079 had some instances that seemed quite sexist. For example, we never see Sayla as fully capable of fighting enemy combatants, at least from my perspective. Mirai is also seen as an object for affection not as a person, as evidenced by multiple different characters wanting to be loved by her. This normative heterosexuality surrounds her and it becomes hard to see her as a person due to this depiction. Fraw Bow was cool but she was a victim of not having anything to do. Tomino seems to enjoy putting female characters as 'nags' who do not take action. In fact, they are never given control of the Gundam, which instead rests with Amuro's hands. As far as enemy combatants go, there is Lalah, who appears to be killed off as a plot device. Lt. Matilda meets a similar fate of being killed off as a plot device. This approach is both uncreative and definitely alludes misogynistic messages: women can die as symbols, but men are allowed to be alive. (Granted, some male characters do die as well, but I felt that they made it more obvious that Lt. Matilda and Lalah were to be treated more as symbols than people.)

Furthermore, though this is a military base with some diversity, clearly in action the men take up most of the glory. For example, there is Hayato who is solely focused on fighting so that he can surpass Amuro. And Amuro himself is often moody, unwilling to engage in any communication because he was fighting; this behavior is repeated often, emphasizing his valuing fighting. Thus, the desire to fight one's enemies is emphasized through Tomino's directing. In my eyes, 0080 avoided these traps - yes, gender roles were generally followed but there were some female characters who played a heroic act, at least in my perspective.

0080 was also able to deliver impactful messages about war, where was 0079 offered no satisfying conclusion asides from the typical protagonist (Amuro) fights antagonist (Char) duel. As 0079 progressed, I felt that many ideas were stuffed in and did not organically work with each other, leading to an increasingly convoluted struggled. I could not tell why Zeon and the Federation were fighting, nor was I particulary invited to care about their outcomes. Char was cool but he may have been the only memorable Zeon figure. In 0080, again, you saw Bernie as a Zeon, Al as an in-between, and Chris as a Feddie, which really gave personal context and meaning to the conflict. The civilian setting gave further meaning - here, you were destroying people's livelihoods, not simply machines in space, or people hidden away in bases; destroying humans, civilians, and not just enemy soldiers. I hope that through roundingout the one year war experience I can gain a better understanding of why these two sides are fighting and what their motivations and ambitions are.

I hope that I can get something akin to the Empire vs Alliance as in LOTGH.  LOTGH provides many similar themes, with its emphasis on space and colonization, as the Gundam series, especially 0080. Fundamentally, we see two sides fighting, each consider itself right, and we as viewers are allowed to see elements of both perspectives. Some events that occur in LOTGH could conceivably happen in Gundam. Such as the Earth Cult, which worships Earth - I sensed a strong fascination with Earth in Gundam as well. Watching these two series - 0080 and LOTGH - sure has helped me understand and appreciate what happens in an extended war and how civilians can get caught within the conflict.

If the Gundam series can deliver similar experiences to 0080, count me in. If they are more like 0079,  then eh. I intend to round out the One Year War experience, which should help me appreciate the particulars of the fighting, before moving onto AGE and Build Fighters. Through this effort, I hope to work my way through a significant portion of Gundam. From there, who knows - maybe I will try and see other mecha, like Doga Kobo's Majestic Prince.

Aria

 Below is an excerpt - the first page and a half or so, to be more precise - from the story that I am writing for NaNoWriMo (which takes place during November). The idea stemmed from wanting to write a poem about a friend who is quite special to me but one that I will likely no longer talk to.  For those wondering, yes, I did show her "Aria" (Murray Perahia's rendition) and yes she is thought of as fairly cat-like by her friends. My relationship with her was....well, weird and in some ways painful but ultimately important. This poem is present in the beginning of the story and helped me bring together a story. This November, I wanted to create a story that is not cut off from my own story. I also sought to change my genre focus here from fantasy/supernatural or sci-fi to more of a romance/drama sort of approach.

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The musty book – though, I guess it had only come out earlier this year - lay open to a poem called “Aria”, a reference I vaguely understood as providing deference to the piano works of Bach. Poetry is usually incomprehensible to me, but regardless I decided to try reading. After all, what kind of poet would I be if I shied from such a challenge?

“A black cat licking its paws,
never minding the sun,
yet altogether bathed in its brilliant light.”

My eyes hesitated as I scratched my head; then I kept reading.

“That being as human,
a piano player,
viscous blonde hair extending far downwards,
and pale skin, giving way to red;

Her piercing green eyes,
feline in existence,
that seek out the genuine, that repel the fake;

Simultaneously one apparently lacking elegance,
but with great sophistication and insight:
One who can make an astute comment,
and can also laugh the subject off.

Initially a sinister omen,
a person of discord,
she is revealed to be complex (eccentric);
but then,
as a cat senses its boundaries being overstepped,
I was scratched,
wounding my feelings and self.

Soon the black cat,
amidst torrential rains,
jumped off the wall,
entering the unknown and becoming a memory.

A memory that repeats endlessly,

losing and regaining complexity,
as the entire complex disintegrates steadily,
promising to leave little behind;
even as that person lives,
she grows further and further away into oblivion,
like some sort of anathema.

Buried below the rubble
is a positive feeling that is
emanated from encountering such a person -
and yet, despite the gauntlet of losing this person,
she is missed beyond words.

Despite the gauntlet of losing this person,
I will fight to hold onto this longing,
rather than submit to
the fatal wish of never having met her.”

That poem was rather melodramatic, but something about its writing strikes me – this feeling of total loss, crushing the author slowly but also quickly; as if the only egress was his writing, itself a grave bastion of instability and moroseness. The word ‘gauntlet’ reappearing, to me, signals that this challenge goes beyond ordinary feats and represents an ordeal that reframes, in part, one’s world. I blinked and look down;  regions of tear-stained pages had appeared, centered around the poem I had just read – did “Aria” reach out and grab my human soul? Even though the work seemed as sloppy as something thrown haphazardly together to fulfill a daily writing quota, my numbness had been breached. I would avoid something dramatic such as “the trauma running throughout my life had been utterly exposed” but I had been emotionally revealed for the first time in months. Art has this impressive ability to destroy us through bypassing the cracks in our armor. Without thinking, I had ended up lying on my back, eyes shut, and mind wandering – unable to pinpoint my troubles, I instead became fully submerged in them, as if I could not swim and was forced to drown lugubriously.