CANNES -- Mamoru Oshii's sequel to his 1995 "Ghost in the Shell" -- a major anime success -- has taken the title of "Innocence". Yet other than a sleepy-eyed basset hound, none of the characters has much innocence. It is the year 2032, and the planet is overrun by cyborgs, androids and mechanical dolls. Some humans are left, but they are trying to remember what it means to be human.
The film should enjoy success among anime fans in Japan and Europe. DreamWorks, which has North American rights, can anticipate "Innocence" achieving cult-hit status, but a downbeat story line layered with philosophical discourses will restrict the audience to fans of the animated genre.
The story revolves around the question of human nature. The key figure is a cyborg named Batou. His body is increasingly artificial but is inhabited by a human soul. He is a cop investigating a case involving a series of malfunctioning androids programd to be sex dolls. Several have gone berserk and wound up killing people.
Batou has a human partner, but the man is extremely wary of Batou's capacity for violence. As they penetrate the shadowy world of the company that manufactures these dolls, they encounter an array of characters and situations that call into question the humanity, or lack thereof, of a world in which the distinction between human and machine has grown fuzzy.
For all the zap-pow of the many action sequences, this is largely a philosophical film in which characters make their points by quoting from Milton, Descartes, Confucius and the Bible -- which makes for a movie you really have to read your way through when watching a subtitled print. When DreamWorks dubs "Innocence" into English, the film will undoubtedly be easier to follow.
Highly imaginative design by Oshii and production designer Tanada Yohei dominates the film as they creates surreal landscapes in dark though vivid colors. The urban environments have a "Blade Runner"-like bleakness, with the sky glowing a brilliant shade of yellow. Black towers pierce the sky. The corporation that manufactures the dolls resides in an ominous wasteland of a former industrial park that features architectural elements from many cultures.
The hulking cyborg is virtually a black-and-white figure with a startlingly pale face. Male characters, whether machine or human, are drawn in a lean and often muscular style. Female dolls -- robots with no human elements at all -- are pretty and passive in the porcelain beauty. The hound is pretty much the film's only rounded and soft character.
Kawai Kenji's techno music score greatly contributes to the film's otherworldly sensation.
GHOST IN THE SHELL 2: INNOCENCE
DreamWorks
Production I.G in association with Studio Ghibli
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Mamoru Oshii
Original story: Shirow Masamune
Producers: Mitsuhisa Ishikawa
Director of photography: Masamune Shirow
Production designer: Tanada Yohei
Music: Kawai Kenji
Animation directors: Toshihiko Nishikubo, Naoko Kusumi
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 100 minutes...
The film should enjoy success among anime fans in Japan and Europe. DreamWorks, which has North American rights, can anticipate "Innocence" achieving cult-hit status, but a downbeat story line layered with philosophical discourses will restrict the audience to fans of the animated genre.
The story revolves around the question of human nature. The key figure is a cyborg named Batou. His body is increasingly artificial but is inhabited by a human soul. He is a cop investigating a case involving a series of malfunctioning androids programd to be sex dolls. Several have gone berserk and wound up killing people.
Batou has a human partner, but the man is extremely wary of Batou's capacity for violence. As they penetrate the shadowy world of the company that manufactures these dolls, they encounter an array of characters and situations that call into question the humanity, or lack thereof, of a world in which the distinction between human and machine has grown fuzzy.
For all the zap-pow of the many action sequences, this is largely a philosophical film in which characters make their points by quoting from Milton, Descartes, Confucius and the Bible -- which makes for a movie you really have to read your way through when watching a subtitled print. When DreamWorks dubs "Innocence" into English, the film will undoubtedly be easier to follow.
Highly imaginative design by Oshii and production designer Tanada Yohei dominates the film as they creates surreal landscapes in dark though vivid colors. The urban environments have a "Blade Runner"-like bleakness, with the sky glowing a brilliant shade of yellow. Black towers pierce the sky. The corporation that manufactures the dolls resides in an ominous wasteland of a former industrial park that features architectural elements from many cultures.
The hulking cyborg is virtually a black-and-white figure with a startlingly pale face. Male characters, whether machine or human, are drawn in a lean and often muscular style. Female dolls -- robots with no human elements at all -- are pretty and passive in the porcelain beauty. The hound is pretty much the film's only rounded and soft character.
Kawai Kenji's techno music score greatly contributes to the film's otherworldly sensation.
GHOST IN THE SHELL 2: INNOCENCE
DreamWorks
Production I.G in association with Studio Ghibli
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Mamoru Oshii
Original story: Shirow Masamune
Producers: Mitsuhisa Ishikawa
Director of photography: Masamune Shirow
Production designer: Tanada Yohei
Music: Kawai Kenji
Animation directors: Toshihiko Nishikubo, Naoko Kusumi
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 100 minutes...
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