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| JAPANIME
02 : Day 1
Opening night: It's almost always the first to sell out,
isn't it? And in my endless generosity and out of a desire
to share the anime joy, I gave my Spirited Away ticket
to my little sister. Figured I might attempt a more critical
review when the movie is released nationally a littler later
on this year...
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| Sure, I was sorry to miss the Big
Shindig, but as it turned out I wouldn't have had much time
to play anyway - the session for Spirited Away came out
and the session for Escaflowne went straight in. And
by the look on a lot of faces, the movie definitely did not
suck. My sister when she met me had that quiet gleam in her
eyes, that mixture of delight and amazement that I see on a
lot of people's faces after they watch almost any Miyazaki film.
I'm looking forward to having that same look on my face even
more, after opening night and the last twenty four hours of
overheard conversations.
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So my first official film of the festival was Escaflowne-
A Girl in Gaea. I must admit I wasn't entirely sure what
to expect. I mean I already knew a fair bit about the film,
but that's not quite the same as seeing it now is it?
I never realised for instance that it was quite so epic. There
was a lot going on in 98minutes. The narrative was strong,
the animation wonderful, the characterisation good and there
was enough symbolism there to write at least a small thesis.
Still, I couldn't help but feel that the film wasn't as much
about Hitomi as it was about the Gaea and its heroes as seen
through her eyes, as reflected in her heart.
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| I also couldn't help but come to
the realisation that, while a gorgeous film, in many respects
the depth of Escaflowne's storyline is probably served
in a much more satisfying way in the context of the series.
As is the way with so many OAV's there's such an overwhelmingly
large body of work to draw from (either from long running manga
or TV series, or both) that doing justice to the source's complexity
is often going to seem like falling short of the mark. Happily
enough however, Escaflowne had enough going for it to
make that an issue without weight.
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| So, on that note and facing about
four hours sleep before having to get my butt to work, I look
forward to embarking on my Friday marathon. Four films in a
row - Blue Submarine No. 6, Tale of Genji, Petshop
of Horrors and COWBOY BEBOP (hey that's 1 hour of
sleep per film!). Maybe it'll kill me, but I have a feeling
I'll be dying a happy girl...
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Deni Stoner reporting
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H E R O I C * C I N E M A
http://www.heroic-cinema.com
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