Ghost in the Shell is my first experience in the world of Japanese Animation. Anime, is a style that requires a certain mood and state of mind when you are going to watch it for the first time if you are to attempt to get anything out of it. Ghost in the Shell is a story that takes place in a future where attractive humanoid cyborgs exist, and are used as police to stop anarchist hackers (both human and non human) from destroying the world. Pretty heavy science fictiony kind of stuff so you really need to know what you're getting yourself into. However, I've been told this is a classic movie when it comes to this genre, so I had to give it a chance. The genre is really a bit of a cultural hurdle to get over, and while I would not recommend this movie to most people, there are some great, artistic and thought provoking things this movie does that I really do appreciate.
First, and possibly most importantly, this movie heavily influenced the Matrix. I am a huge Matrix fan, and while most people enjoyed the special effects and action parts of the movie, I also really enjoyed the philosophy of the movie. I'm also extremely happy that I saw the Matrix first because if I hadn't, I wouldn't be able to have seen it without thinking what an incredible rip off they did on Ghost in the Shell. The Matrix took everything from the philosophy of humanity, to the visual style, to the art, to the damn floating green text. Yes, the iconic Matrix green text is not original! The parralels to the Matrix smack you in the face. The concept of "Neo" is definitely there, and done possible better in this movie.
The fight and action scenes are absolutely amazing. I never thought that traditional animation could wow me the way practical and special affects could, but they do. The action was intense, direct and artistic. In general, even during the non action scenes, the way this movie was shot was incredibly artistic. Sometimes you would see a still image that the camera would just focus in on, or pan over, and it felt as though you were flipping the page of a comic book and pausing a moment to admire a particular frame. In fact, sometimes this movie is so artistic that it doesn't even make sense! However, everything in a movie doesn't have to make sense right away if it is made that way purposely to force you to think.
The main problem I have with this movie is the delivery of the dialogue and story. I don't believe it's necessarily a flaw of the movie, but a flaw I have in myself. Japanese culture is very different to my own, and I'm not use to the over verbose, dry delivery of the dialogue. That is why is some ways I'm also glad the Matrix ripped off this movie because it let me think about the same issues as Ghost in the Shell, just from the American point of view of the Wachowski brothers. In this movie, you'll have dialogue that goes on way too long and will lead you through the following thought process: Whoa they're talking about some really cool stuff...ok, this is deep I can get on board with this...yeah...ok wait what?...slow down...wait I'm lost...huh inception?...wait what?....you lost me...you lost me....now I'm bored...I really believe that there is some gold in these conversations, but I'd only get it after a second or third viewing and paying real close attention. It's something about the style of dry, explanatory dialogue that just kills my attention span.
Finally, I have to comment on the nudity. I was aware that in certain anime movies there happens to be a lot of nudity. In general, I don't necessarily have a problem with it, especially if it is female nudity (of course). As long as it serves some purpose, I'm ok with it. The female body has always been considered a work of art, so stylistically, it is often used in many different ways. In this movie, the cyborg robot/humans run around trying to stop a terrorist plot using their advanced technology. One of these advanced technologies is the power to turn invisible. Apparently, and conveniently for men, this power is not inherent in a special cloth or coat that the cyborgs wear, but instead inherent in their robotic skin...which means that every time the cyborgs, who are all perfect 10s, want to use their ability to attack someone invisibly, they strip. How convenient right? So what is this: Is this a stylistic choice and makes logical sense given the advanced cyborg world that they live in or is it a convenient way to satisfy dork urges for bodacious nudity? I could make the argument for the former, but...c'mon.
I would recommend this movie to someone who enjoyed the plot of the matrix, I know there are a few of you out there, or someone who in general likes movies that get a little existential and contemplate the nature of humanity.
1 comments:
TO MAKE YOU THINK!
While I am also not terribly fond of anime (primarily because the market is currently over saturated with this style), this movie is one of my favorite films. I strongly encourage you to watch it again in the distant future, I get more out of it each time I watch it. This movie was one of the first of it's kind to hit American shores and helped launch the anime sub-culture in the states. What is interesting about good Japanese anime is that they utilize animation to tell very adult stories. It is a clever idea, because by making the cartoons more adult the animators are more free to express themselves artistically than in a traditional children's cartoon. That is one of the reasons the matrix was so interesting to general audiences. The Wachoski brothers used sophisticated computer effects to portray the off the wall style generally seen in anime and comic books as a live action movie. General audiences hadn't seen that before, nor we're they accustomed to action movies that also dared to be thought provoking.
While you could say they were "ripping this off", I still credit them with bringing this style of story to wide audiences (not an easy task).
I would encourage people to see this movie as a visually arresting history lesson. It really shows us where the obsession with anime began for us westerners, it is also a movie that dares to be intelligent and thought provoking despite its' medium (even if the dialogue is overly verbose and dry at times).
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