1:46 PM
Dragonmark Design
Review - What a movie. I'm almost ashamed of myself for not having heard of it 'till recently. A buddy of mine called me and asked if I have seen a film called Colorful. I thought she meant this..
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| Not the colorful you're thinking about |
I quickly replied that it was a terrible anime and that if she wanted fan service, she should watch Goldenboy. I was quickly told that she meant the movie, a movie that, again, I did not know existed. So, after a lucky encounter with another friend, I was able to get a file of it, and after watching, I have to say that this movie is the best movie from the past 2 years. Better than Redline. Better than Welcome To The Space Show. Better than The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya. Yes, even better than Summer Wars. Because this film pretty much asks questions that the others did not. This also dealt with things that the others did not. And to be honest, this film just reminded me a whole lot of It's a Wonderful Life.
I will start with the characters. Every single one of them was special in their own way. "Makoto" just wants to get through this internship, and he just can't seem to untderstand why, with a family so nice and caring, Makoto would attempt suicide. As PuraPura states to him, however, the family is not as it seems. The father is all but a salaryman, doing work that he doesn't want to do, and taking crap for it. The mother had an affair with a gypsy instructor until recently. The older brother, Mitsuru is a grade A dick, looking down on his academically weaker brother, instead of helping him get ahead in life.
His schoolmates in general were also nice at first. But when the curtain is lifted, you start seeing problems. Hiroka, apparently is a prostitute who wants expensive things now (as she said when Makoto tried to stop her from seeing an older man). The only characters that I really thought were genuine was both the awkward Shoko, and the hopeful Saotome. I liked that, as shy as Shoko was, she kept trying to communicate with Makoto and even went on to say that she prefers the "old" Makoto. Shoko wasn't the perfect girl. She twitched incessantly, she was ugly, she stared alot.... All the things that most guys wouldn't bat an eye at. Yet she, outside of Saotome, kept asking Makoto what was wrong. She was the first to see through the facade, and for that, I believe her character had the most life to it. Saotome was a different situation altogether, as he was what Makoto considered his only friend. They hang out together, ate together, and shared similar dreams. He was possibly the shining (living) light throughout all of the depressing characters in this film. As a matter of fact, I don't remember him ever being sad in this film.
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| No wonder noone talks to her... |
Purapura is percieved to be a guardian angel, a neutral party sent to help "Makoto", but not hold his hand along the way. I really liked how arrogant and witty the kid was. It's a shame he's dead, haha. The film even gets in depth with his character a bit, with a twist that I wasn't really expecting all that much.
I could say many things for this plot. I mean there are mini-plots within the plot. You have a soul who must figure out exactly what sin he/she/it committed in living world in order to get reincarnated. You have a kid who committed suicide. You have a grieving family that has problems of their own. You have classmates that are far from perfect. And you have friends who are trying to patch things up with said kid. Altogether, I'd say the plot was a winner. Individually, I'd say the plot was a winner, as well.
The music was great. One notable scene was when he grabbed Hiroka in the rain and ran as fast as he could. The rock music playing in the background, the intensity, it all fit so very well.
The landscape art is great. They are as accurate as can be with how that part of Japan would look like. I also liked how there are photography shots implemented into the film. This technique was utilized before, but rarely has it worked this well.
The voices were all great. I loved Purapura's voice mostly.
In conclusion, I'd say that the film was amazing. It told a story of suicide, friendship, and survival that I found, personally, to be touching. If there was ever a bad thing to say about this, it was the little development that went on with the Hiroka situation. I would like to know what was going on there, outside of just "I want expensive things". Not many have been able to make a movie as good as this, though, so mark this as a must-watch.
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Story - 9.5
Characters - 8.75
Content - 9.75
Animation - 9
Music -8
Voice Acting - 10
Overall - 9.25
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