🛒Grim realism collides with childhood innocence in a striking, kaleidoscopic artwork.
Tag: Anime
“Millennium Actress” Review: Transcendental & Beautiful
Millennium Actress [2001] – ★★★★1/2 A cinematic journey to stardom and to finding answers as to identity, history and inexplicability of love, while “playing” with time and fusing reality and make-believe. “All the world’s a stage, [and] all the men and women [are] merely players”, famously stated William Shakespeare. It appears that this quote is…
“Big Fish & Begonia” Review: Other-Worldly & Beautiful, even if a tad Confusing
Big Fish & Begonia [2016] – ★★★★1/2 Often perplexing, but still uncanny, almost mystical and visually-stunning cinematic experience. This fantastical tale is about Chun, a girl who is a member of a tribe of mythical beings (“neither humans nor gods, but others”) living underwater, capable of controlling tides and knowing the secrets of nature. As…
“Tokyo Godfathers” Review: Socially Astute & Uplifting
Tokyo Godfathers [2003]- ★★★★1/2 👶 A fun and heart-warming Christmas tale about homeless “misfits” that sheds light on many of Japan’s social problems, including alcoholism, poverty and discrimination. The co-director and scriptwriter of this little gem is no other than Satoshi Kon, the man who brought to the masses such great animated films as Perfect…
“Miss Hokusai” Review: Idiosyncratic, Poetic & Inspiring
Miss Hokusai [2015] – ★★★1/2 🎨A gentle anime-biography, unveiling the character of Katsushika Ōi and the mysteries of art-making. Based on a manga series by Hinako Sugiura, Miss Hokusai is a Japanese animation about the daughter of the famous real-life Japanese painter Hokusai. Her name was Katsushika Ōi. A great artist herself, Ōi helped her…
Studio Ghibli: “Only Yesterday” & “Kiki’s Delivery Service”
I. Only Yesterday [1991] – ★★★★1/2 “What “drives” animation is the will of the characters” (Hayao Miyazaki). Only Yesterday has a plot filled with highly emotional undercurrents and intelligence: a 27-year old unmarried woman, Taeko from Tokyo, visits countryside while reminiscing over her childhood of when she was a shy and creative fifth grader. Through…
Makoto Shinkai: Your Name & 5 Centimetres per Second
Your Name [2016] – ★★★★★ 📆 An emotionally intense, unforgettable viewing experience, filled with “coming-of-age” fun and spiritual longings. Makoto Shinkai’s latest animation feature Your Name is rapidly gaining international recognition, and has already grossed over 10 billion yen ($98 million), becoming the first ever anime film not produced by Studio Ghibli/Miyazaki to gross this…
Spotlight on Film 