review
Another World
It is by all means both narratively ambitious and visually stunning, if not occasionally messy, but for most of its duration this film is just so bleak, I don't think I could actually recommend this to anyone.
animation
10 entries tagged animation
review
The Legend of Hei II
Maybe I'm reading too much into this but it feels like a metaphor for geopolitical tension and arguments for peaceful co-existence and mutual cooperation between China and the west.
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review
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
Deals with the topic of gender with all the nuance you would expect today from a white feminist born in the 1960s, especially one coming from nobility. But at least the animation is nice.
review
Arco
Loved the environmental metaphors, the bumbling trio of loveable up-to-no-goods, the brilliant French comic inspired artwork, the retro future designs, and even made me sympathetic to the working class robots.
review · Berlinale
A New Dawn
For as clumsy as a the storytelling is, at the very least this debut film by Yoshitoshi Shinomiya, a PhD in traditional Japanese art, undeniably works as an impressive display of the director's talents as a visual artist.
review
Art College 1994
The big dreams and endless philosophical meandering of an early 20s student.
review
The Boy and The Heron
At times a whimsical adventure, The Boy and the Heron is fundamentally about dealing with grief, trauma and human agency.
review · TIFF
Blue Giant
Blue Giant, an animated adaption of the eponymous graphic novel chronicling the rise of a starting Jazz musician, is a wonderful and sometimes moving love letter to Jazz, elevated by a brilliant soundtrack composed and performed by the ever so talented Uehara Hiromi.
review · Berlinale
Suzume: Weathering With Your Name
Although a significant improvement over his previous release (the abysmal 2019 Weathering with You), Shinkai is reluctant to deviate from the formula that made Your Name such a success, and I felt that despite all-out nice performances, the film and its emotional payoff is particularly held back by his least memorable protagonist yet.