The Boy and the Heron is Miyazaki’s “fever-dream”, a symbolism-driven animated tour de force full of adventure, wonder and insight.
Tag: Japanese Animation
“Tekkonkinkreet” (“Treasure Town”) Review: Wondrous & Hard-Hitting
Tekkonkinkreet [2006] – ★★★★1/2 🛒Grim realism collides with childhood innocence in a striking, kaleidoscopic artwork. Based on a manga Tekkon kinkurito (1993) by Taiyo Matsumoto, Treasure Town is a well-made animation about two orphaned boys: street-wise and brave Kuro (Black), and lovable and innocent Shiro (White). Street-raised “Yin and Yang” of the cruel world around…
“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…
“Tokyo Godfathers” Review: Socially Astute & Uplifting
👶 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.
“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…
“The Red Turtle” Review: Simple, Yet Profound
The Red Turtle [2016] – ★★★★1/2 🐢 A simple story of survival morphs into a poetic, symbolism-driven tale of the man’s connection with nature and the meaning of life. The Red Turtle is the 2017 best animation Oscar nominee that surprised people in a way it masterfully combined visual simplicity and metaphoric depth. The film…
“Wolf Children” Review: Heart-Warming & Relatable
Wolf Children [2012] – ★★★★ A touching, beautifully-presented story that makes a stance against discrimination, encouraging learning to live with one’s differences. Wolf Children is a 2012 animation directed by Mamoru Hosoda, the man behind very creative The Girl Who Leapt through Time (2006) and equally inventive The Boy and the Beast (2015). This film…
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. Showcasing Makoto Shinkai’s talent for presenting emotional connections, fully-fledged characters and breathtakingly beautiful, detailed animation, Your Name is a romantic story of an accidental body-swap between country girl Mitsuha and city boy Taki, who, in reality,…
Is Aronofsky’s Black Swan Perfectly Blue?: Kon’s “Perfect Blue” vs. “Black Swan”
In this piece, I will compare the two films closely, arguing that the two share substantial similarities in terms of their stories, characters, styles, designs, & execution, concluding that Aronofsky’s film Black Swan can easily pass for a “remake” of Kon’s anime Perfect Blue.
Spotlight on Film 