Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
Wow. I think I’ve done a pretty good job of being cool about this one... not really thinking about it, trying not to be too hyped up because God only knows when I’ll actually get a chance to see it for myself. I’m dying to, but I try not to think about it.
And then this e-mail shows up today:
Hello Harry, Champagne 2000 here. It’s been long time since I've last contacted you (I have relocated to Japan during this time actually). I gave you the first review of Amelie, O’brother and Versus. So you know when I wrote to AICN, it was not about trivial things. And “Innocence”, the sequel to Ghost in the Shell is definitely not trivial.
As sequels are meant to do, Innocence gives you more. If you want more action, more violence, more sexy robots… you’re gonna be disappointed.
Innocence is...
More poetry,
More spirituality,
More philosophy.
Mamoru Oshii is a true artist. We all know that. As a true artist he didn’t make any compromises with his new movie. Ghost in the Shell was a big hit. It would have been easy to make much more money with the sequel (just think about the merchandising). But... Mamoru Oshii doesn’t care. Innocence is not as easily accessible to a big audience as Ghost in the shell. After a very good opening sequence, the first part of the film is closer to a classic “Film Noir” than to a big SCI-FI movie. A lot of the action takes place in a car (who also looks taken from “the Maltese falcon”) where we follow the two main characters. No big settings. Few action. Lots of talking and , because you have seen GITS, important silences. Even if the narration of Innocence is different from GITS, it’s still have some connection with it like the opening credits (the construction of a robot), a small clip about the city at the middle of the movie (this time it’s about a Chinese parade. I didn’t see anything so beautiful on a big screen for a long time) and of course the music of Kenji Kawai (small deception for me as his new score is more a variation of GITS than a truly new one). If I had to think Innocence as a sequel, I would rather see it as a sequel to Blade Runner than to GITS. Innocence has a lot in common with the movie of Ridley Scott. We cannot see the fighting women dolls/robots without thinking of Pris (Daryl Hannah) and the main character living alone in his apartment with his dog is really close to Deckard (and of course all the classic “Film Noir” part of the movie bring a “Blade Runner” atmosphere). I didn’t understand all the movie (my Japanese is far from being perfect!) but even my Japanese friends didn’t ! They want to see it a second time to understand all the philosophical aspect. This tells you how deep Innocence is going. Innocence is a movie from Mamoru Oshii. And no one else. It’s his movie, his work of art. So he goes in surprising directions. As a result, Innocence is more than an anime. It’s an experience. Mamoru Oshii doesn’t care to loose the audience and the audience doesn’t care to be lost because even if so, it’s a wonderful trip.
Champagne 2000 out.
PS: If some Japanese geeks wants to get in touch with me they can write
PS2: Sorry for my bad English.
No worries, man. You got your point across loud and clear, and I appreciate it. Sounds good, and I pray I catch a break and this one shows at FanTasia this summer in Montreal.
"Moriarty" out.
