While the queue stretched for a good 50 metres, a "JTV" crew hassled the locals for interviews. The interview that I overheard came up with a girl who'd seen some weird Chinese bootleg, and was waiting to hear the Gillian Anderson dub. Too bad the premiere was subbed - there's cosmic justice for you; very apt for Mononoke :-)
The audience was split among the Dendy's 3 smallish theatres. In #3, there was quite a hush of anticipation as the Ghibli Totoro went up...
Actually, in general, there was a hush over the whole movie. I think we were all pretty shattered, actually. Sure, we a laughed at the typical Miyazaki humour, but it's a sad thing when the gods go away. It's one of the few times I've been in a movie audience which did not fill any of the silences with coughing or munching.
The final humourous "sting" was appreciated, but barely anyone had the enrgy to applaud when the credits started. Like I said, we were pretty blown away. Still, at least 25% stayed until the end of the credits.
I will be interested to see if the dub drastically changes the character of Miro's voice. And whether the poetic lyricism of the initial stages is tempered. I still haven't quite figured out whether the demonification of the gods is too whacky or not. Nor have I reconciled Miro's adoption of San with her apparent love of cruching other people. The relative weakness of the gods can, I suppose, be explained a bit by the loss of habitat coupled with "modern" artillery, which symbolises a certain loss of innocence.
When we left the theatre, JTV was wrapping up what had obviously been an exit poll / interview session with a piece to camera.
But back to the start...
Wings of Honneamise up first. And it was quite nice on the big screen. There was a total holding of breath during the (silent) ignition of the first stage. The whole rape and aftermath really didn't fit well. I think the sex and redemption thing was better developed in Eva. Anno could have cut the scenes out and I don't think it would have hurt.
Next: Nausicaa. The lavish, lovely opening scenes were entrancing. I have started to try to view bodies of work as just that, rather than necessarily unconnected films. Miyazaki's heroines are starting to look the same, and also the cool, arrogant outsider. Still, they work for me. Although I must say the boy could have been introduced a bit better. But the scenes during the end credits! I think over 95% of the audience stayed, as we were all reluctant to let the fairytale end...
... which brings us to the next film; Porco Rosso. The evil, rotting gunships of Nausicaa are a thousand years away as every plane in this film is the product of caring people. The flight scenes are beautiful on the wide screen, and there was much laughter from the audience during all the cute stuff - even (or should that be especially?) the big fight. And the nostalgic end credits. A la recherche du temps perdu? Still an all-time favourite, and a crying shame that it couldn't have been shown to a younger audience. I hope they'll catch it on TV when it rolls around again.
A jolt to the senses now - Memories. Headed by Magnetic Rose, a tale of love lost and peaceful acceptance. In the middle, Stink Bomb - a raucous romp of Dirty Pair destruction proportions. And finished with Cannon Fodder, a bleak yet human look at the grinding waste of war.
Finally, the killer - Perfect Blue. The audience was kept in fits of nervous laughter as tension was continually built up and released. The ending was a little twee, though. I suppose it lets the audience sleep tonight. But can you imagine the effect of seeing something else in the rear-view mirror? Brr... I don't think the live scenes really worked. They might serve as a sign of reality vs. unreality, but it seems too forced. And when you have the animated characters on even a slightly realistic backdrop, it just doesn't seem right.
Can't remember all of RC, but there was minor technical hiccup during the first (post opening credits) segment, "Franken's Gears", which halted proceedings for a while and ran us overtime. Then, I think there was "Starlight Girl", "Deprive", Cloud", and at least one other. Oh yeah, "Japan at the end of the 19th century". It looked like a parody (or hommage) to stuff like "Five Get Overexcited", but with the Macek dub, it appeared that he was parodying the parody - unless the original Japanese kids' voices really were that dim. FG was a bit of a vignette, SG and D were each, in there own way, like mid-80's Madonna videos. Cloud was more like an art project.
Pompoko had 'em rolling in the aisles. Great to see the mix of three character styles to indicate mood, as well. An odder, less earnest type of enviro-fable than Miyazaki's, but the last piece to camera seemed a bit too twee.
Grave of the Fireflies had most of the cinema in tears. One of the things about the Japanese films that I've seen is that they usually don't make fun of the little sister in the way that American films often seem to do. Maybe that's just my lack of exposure.
The dub of Princess Mononoke confirmed my worst fears about the voice of Moro. An old goddess should not sound like a young lady. But I thought Minnie Driver was pretty spot on, and Billy Bob fit the attitude, if not necessarily the appearance. And the sound seemed to be a bit flat. The booming roar of battle really immersed me on Wednesday.
To bring it home, Vampire Hunter D gave us a mix of 95% Goth plus 5% tech. Forearm crossbows count as both :-) Stuff like this really looks better than real life. Especially the spaceship, followed by the Elysian scenery of the goodbye scene. Another audience walks out happy, although not necessarily all for the same reason.
First up was Totoro. There were many young children here, and Totoro paraphenalia galore. I saw backpacks, dolls and sweatshirts. One lady a few seats away was speaking to her child in Japanese, and getting English-language answers. This film is only 12 years old, yet already there are two generations of fans. This film will be regarded as one of the greatest films of all time; if Miyazaki had never made another film, his reputation would still be assured. One young 'un must have had "Totoro" as one of his first words. At least, that's what he kept crying out during the film. It's pretty "heavy" compared to the following film (Kiki), but not in a flippant way, and the kids didn't seem to mind. But then again, maybe they'd all seen it before.
Kiki's Delivery Service was next, and one I'd not seen at all. It suprised me with its gentleness and personal involvement. The audience was rapt, although I didn't really like Jiji's "cat" voice. Too much smart-aleck. I think that's fairly true for any dub that I've seen, though. The offsider tends to be voiced like some Brooklyn wise-guy (think Joe Pesci in the Lethal Weapon series). It is probably the mildest introduction to Miyazaki that one could get, and probably the best "first" film for kids. The dangers are not too scary, and the concerns not so large-scale. The ending struck my companion as too much like an American "Hello Mother Hello Father" kid-at-camp film, but as a first film, it's nice to believe that they all lived happily ever after, including the parents.
After lunch, things took a turn for the grimmer.
First was Battle Angel Alita, paired back-to-back with a censored version of Kite. Given that the festival received a rating exemption, they might have tried harder to find an uncut version - especially as the cuts apparently removed a major motivation for the heroine's final decision of revenge.
Alita had already screened on free-to-air in Oz, so we were all pretty familiar. Its yearning for the heights was more magical than the similar theme in Wings Of Honneamise, yet grittier at the same time. It is interesting to see the (motsly male) audience's appreciation for a girl who discovers her hidden talents, rather than a boy (e.g. Shinji Ikari). I am reluctanct to read the manga - its (I presume) "darker" edge might sit uneasily with my current memories.
Kite, of course, was rather controversial with the audience, who felt a bit ripped off by the knowledge of the cuts. The ending was almost inevitable, yet depressing all the same. At least Sawa was last seen smiling. The review compares it to film noir. It is similar, but in theme, not visual style. That makes it less depressing, but more frightening, in that we can't ignore it even if we inhabit a (nominally) "brighter" world.The blockbuster Ghost In The Shell followed, which had received a cinema release previously, and is probably the most well-known anime in Australia after Akira (and possibly Urutsokidoji). The publicity played up the Matrix visual style similarities, but thematically they were different. I had never seen any of the the movie prior to the scene where they arrive at the Crystal Palace, but the rest of the movie really didn't add much thematically. It did round out Major Kusanagi's philosophy for me, though. One review mentioned lots of sex and violence. How daft. The "sex" was only the Major's nude scenes, and the violence was hardly more than the "usual" comic-book stuff that you get even in Western live-action. Anyway, the audience loved the "cool" style.
Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, the co-founder of Production IG, introduced the premiere of "Blood". And he did it all in English - no mean feat. Although, I think he underestimated his audience and gave away Saya's identity (although subtitling the film "The Last Vampire" is WAY too obvious...). We got copies of the Japanese flyers for this film, too! He did mention the horrific budget, and the significance of the setting. However, I think the hype overtook the reality. Indeed, a film student sitting next to me complained about the unevenness of the effects. While the lighting was way nice, and the opening scene very effective, it only felt like a quick vignette and really, I think ING would have lost serious money on this one. It was too obvious who the characters were, and the thematic emphasis on kind-vs-kind killing perhaps was lost. I could see this from the way people were ignoring the gritty Vietnam pictures over the beginning of the end credits. The end credit sequence reminded me of "Seven".
Mamoru Oshii was to have introduced Jin-Roh, but a personal bereavement prevented his appearance in Australia. Ishikawa instead introduced the film (vai an interpreter, this time). He did mention the "Red Riding Hood" theme and the tussle between the writer and director over the love story emphais. Indeed, he noted Oshii's love of dogs and Kitakubo's love of cats (and got a huge cheer when he also mentioned Kitakubo's un-love for Disney). The film left the audience with mixed feelings. The action guys were kept amused by the Big F Guns, but there seemed to be minor confusion over the actions of Fuse. In the end, it was more depressing than Kite, in a way, because of the lack of idealism of the hero. Oh well, real life can be like that.
The grand finale to the night was Spriggan. And the martial-arts-action- gun fans were pleased again. While it is compared with Raiders Of The Lost Ark, it seemed thematically closer sometimes to Rambo. Naming the American villains "Fatmann" and "Littleboy" went almost unnoticed in the carnage (MacDougall possibly could be read for Douglas Macarthur as well - a selfish, almost childish, megalomaniac). Big explosions on the big screen, though.
At the close, we had passed the hump of the huge Miyazaki-fest and were anticipating the Tezkua-emphasis of the next day...
Anyway, last night I got back home at about 0200, and foolishly (?) stayed up to watch the Australian Wallabies beat the South Aftrican Springboks by a single point with a last-minute penalty (again!). By that time, Daylight Saving had kicked in, so I actually went to bed at about 0415...
...0815, my alarm goes off, and I get the bus into town for breakfast. Sitting in the sun is a bit harder, now Daylight Saving has started. A treat - Fish and Chips to last the whole day, sitting in the sun by Circular Quay. It's a nice place - too bad I've been underground for about 4.5 days running.
Today was basically a tribute to Tezuaka, but it was finished off by Miyazaki. More on that at the end.
Anyway, I lined up to reserve seats before the expected queue for the first Family Session of the day. My mate never turned up all day, due to family commitments. Fortunately, a very nice film student who we'd met previously kept me awake with cheerful conversation all day. One thing about a festival, the audience is pre-selected for at least some sort of compatibility.
Jungle Emperor Leo surprised those who only remember the original "Kimba" movie. This was the 1997 re-make, which was subbed! I think a few of the young kids were a bit confused about how to watch a subbed films, with a few whispered questions as we went along. This apparently followed the original manga much more closely, with Kimba's father only dying at the end to save a human's life. Resemblances to certain Disney movies were noted...
Second up, was a nostaliga session. Kimba (the TV series), the first episode was shown. A guy up the aisle was singing along with the theme song. The first TV episode of Astro Boy was then shown. Boy, I'd forgotten exactly *why* Dr Elefun sneezes all the time! The sound was a bit crackly on the old video, and it was impossible to hear all the theme song words, so no singing for me. This was followed by the episode called "Silver Comet", a basic action-adventure tempered with a sub-plot of the female computer-sister giving her body for her beloved brother.
Finally, Gigantor, which betrayed absolutely *no* Japanese origin in its credits. Grr... This was remarkable mainly for the fact that the hardy bunch travelled to Australia (hi everyone), and encountered a cowboy from a "ranch", "savages" who looked remarkably like Native Americans, and their evil neo-Nazi foe. Oh yeah, and a couple of kangaroos, the joey with eyes like platters (think any magical girl, with long nose and big ears).
After lunch ,we set up to hear Philip Brophy discuss some interesting Tezuka manga, and we started to run late, as usual. We heard on Tezuka's legendary work ethic and his development of the Western crossover. Philip presented some of Tezuka's themes, such as "Androigeny" - the way young androids can be rather androgenous (or even have a switch at the back of the throat (!!!) that converts between male/female). Not to mention the Astro Boy episode that ends with AB changing his legs for those of a girl robot he met and was forced to dismantle. There was also Tezuka's commitment to Shojo manga, with much androgeny still present, as in "Princess (Knight?)" who has to dress as a male. At this point, was were running way late, so Philip just showed a bit of Tezuka's serious side. This was illustrated by a post-apocalyptic (read A-bomb) landscape of melted humans, and also the story of how life is conceived, illustrated by a bunch of white men running up a tube to be the first to touch a Princess' round gown. They meet and fuse, and then...
We then saw some of Tezuka's short films. Memory would have been even funnier, perhaps, if we could have understood the Japanese narration. But maybe not. Hard to tell if it was a dark subject with humourous touches, or mainly humourous. Broken Down Film was, however, hilarious. Fabulously inventive. Self Portrait was a tiny, quirky thing. Jumping was like a Richard Scarry book. A trip through the eyes of one who jumps ever highr and further, until the return to the start.
We then saw a (to the West) more unfamiliar side to Tezuka - BlackJack. Often beautifully drawn, this tight medico-mystery left one sympathetic to all good intentions, no matter the results. And the daughter is amazingly strong. She's not just a dumb kid. I wonder if she's even a kid... Hidden treasures were the Kimba and Astro Boy jigsaw puzzles that the daughter plays with, and the word "Tezuka" branded on something...
We then heard from Tadao Sato, a critic who discussed the evolution of anime from its manga roots, and the beautifully drawn "dynamic-action" style of manga which later developed into the lush, almost photo- realistic backgrounds we so often see in modern anime.
Mamoru Oshii being absent due to personal bereavement, we moved on to Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, of Production IG. We saw a few promos for IG itself, Blood (two very different trailers - one looked more like an industry promo), and Jin-Roh. As a producer, Ishikawa did sort of say they did the Eva movies because there was good money in it. And he promised to get Oshii to direct again, so he's got something to show us when he next comes to Oz :-)
What was nominally the final film of the festival was My Neighbours The Yamadas. One of the funniest films of all time. I am an ABC (Australian- born Chinese), but I recognise many (most?!) of the situations that this family finds itself in. Even the Karaoke song at the end is the song my mother sings to herself in the kitchen (Que Sera Sera). Even though the style is mostly plain, it resembles the work of a Malaysian cartoonist (Lat - even the characters look similar) who evokes a certain domesticity with a few lines. But when provided, other effects are great, such as the water-wash look for the chrysanthemums which is like a picture you'd hang on your wall. The audience wnet out laughing.
But for those who felt dudded by the dub of Mononoke, the sub was replayed. I had my prejudices re-re-confirmed about dubs, finding even more places where the sub had dumbed-down the picture, and still turned off by Gillian Anderson.
Well, that's it for now. Going home to get some rest, and I'll see if I can do a wrap in a coup;le of days.
Maybe I'll see some of you at the next cinema release of anime in Australia.
To be in the smaller cinema 1 for the premiere of Princess Mononoke was to experience the sound in a very impressive way. I think that the dub print was much flatter and less complex. Maybe that had something to do with the dubbing process. I saw Mononoke twice in Cinema 2, once subbed, and the sub sound was definitely better compared to the dub.
Actually, film glitches did halt proceedings several times throughout the week. Once in Robot Carnival, and several times during Spriggan. Punters were unimpressed. It also seemed to take an inordinately long time to set up microphones when needed (for the Ishikawa introductions, the Brophy talk and the Sato/Ishikawa talks).
Every day ended up running late - things were very hectic. It would be about a twelve-hour day with only about 30 minutes between movies. But delays seemed to stretch those breaks to about 40 minutes. I hardly ventured out of the cinema due to the long queues that formed for the following session. At least they let us stay in our seats between sessions, which produced a weird camping-out mentality by the end. Good for comradeship, though. And the full programme really didn't take a physical toll on me - I was too keyed up to be sleepy.
I took another look at the original advertising for the "Olympic Film" festival. It deliberately split Japanime into three major parts - Miyazaki, Tezuka and Production IG. Sort of a Kids/History/Future split. In that regard, is was a bit disappointing to have not heard more from Philip Brophy on the manga of Tezuka, and his influence on the development of anime. Also slightly disappointing (but not entirely unexpected) was the low turnout for the Tezuka talk. People here just don't know much history about mange or anime, and this would have been a great chance to catch up some. Otherwise, we're going to approach anime in the West in a similar way to (say) Tokyo: a high-tech modern-day phenomenon with spectacular but shallow settings.
And the festival re-confirms Miyazaki's emphasis on seeing these things in the cinema. There is something immersing and engaging in watching these films on a large screen, with big sound, and an appreciative audience. I hope his next one is just as impressive as his others. I went home and re-read Helen McCarthy's 1999 book on Miyazaki; I really would not like him to return to "children's" movies just because the young adult market is harder to sell to. The progression of his work mirrors the maturing of his audience. It would be a shame for him to be unable to make a movie for those on the brink of adulthood before his eyesight or health fails him. An aneurysm can strike anyone, you know. I hope Disney are able to make Ghibli enough money to keep it strong, and while we will pobably not see Miyazaki's like again, I hope the attitude to life that Ghibli expresses will find someone to carry on its message.
Anyway, we probably won't see the likes of that for a while out here. Which means that some marketing opportunities were lost. The festival barely made it into mainstream news (two articles in one Sydney daily, as far as I can tell), and the advertising, while necessarily focusing on the "biggest" film (Mononoke), really didn't do anything to pull in the dabblers. The Kimba/Astro Boy stuff was reasonably prominent, but Jungle Emperor Leo would really have pulled in the Kimba/Lion King crowd if it had been publicised properly. Another example, "My Neighbours The Yamadas" was only described as a sketchily-drawn story of a middle-aged salaryman. What it actually turned out to be was a beautiful, charming, evocative, screamingly funny family comedy. I can see how Takahata got from Pompoko to here.
For the future, I hope it won't all be martial-arts & guns, and we will be able to see you all again Down Under with another friendly gathering.
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