Posts
Boy and the World - Alê Abreu
Boy and the World follows a child who ventures out into the world (Brazil) and spends the rest of the movie trying to get back home. It's a simple story (with the exception of one strange sequence) and its nomination is clearly based on very beautiful animation. The people are not drawn in a sophisticated way, but it still works. This is your day out if you were stone cold tripping, with intermittent looks at the underbelly and poverty of Brazil. That makes the score for the film terrific and every time we see Brazil in its glory, the colors are incredible.
The story is fine but the colors are gorgeous.
When Marnie Was There - Hiromasa Yonebayashi and Yoshiaki Nishimura
Fair warning, each year a Miyazaki style film is nominated, and somehow every year I'm thoroughly bored by it.
That's why I was encouraged this year when I started watching When Marnie Was There. It is the story of a young orphan who lives with foster parents who suffers from asthma. Concerned for her welfare, they send her to live with good friends in an ocean town. Her social anxiety is significant as she tries to forge relationships. One night, she comes upon a wealthy little girl who lives in a mansion nearby, and they become fast friends. But something just isn't right and though she spends time with her friend inside the mansion, in the light of day, the home appears totally abandoned and decrepit. I spent the majority of the movie thinking, "there better be a good payoff at the end of this film, because this is insane."
The film does payoff with explanations too coincidental to have any basis in reality, and the majority of what she experienced is entirely unexplainable. I'm all for suspension of disbelief, but this is ridiculous. As always, the animation is lovely, but once again, I'm recommendation a pass on this year's version of the same film.
**Please forgive the double post today, but we only have a certain number of days left and a few extra movies to review!
No comments:
Post a Comment