Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Noutions Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

steevehillage I've just stumbled upon this amazing film and have read all reviews on this site concerning it only to realize that none of these mention the source materials and inspiration behind its very essence. Most reviewers state that the script & narrative are based on the story of Orpheus and his attempt to retrieve his wife Eurydice from the underworld (or Hades to the ancient Greeks) as well as a late form of the Mysteries of Dionysus called: Orphism. While i recognize that these elements are an intricate part of this film, the scope of the "myths" depicted here is much larger than what is attributed to ancient Greek belief systems. If you listen closely at the 28:45 mark of the film, the larger scope is revealed and even cites Greek mythology as only being one out of many of these inspirations. A bit further down the line, all is made clear; what Makoto Shinkai is not-so-subtly hinting at begins at the 31:44 mark of the film. The statement is so bold and surprising that i applaud him for making it especially within a societal & cultural context where these types of concepts are considered mere fantasies and differ so much from the accepted historical narrative being inculcated to us all from such an early age. He speaks of Quetzalcoatls as being guardians of the underworld (Quetzalcoatl being the bringer of civilization & knowledge who came from the sea to the Aztec people of old), a hint is also made to the Sumerians who also possess a legend of a civilization-bringer who came from the sea named: Abgallu (their god Enki's advisor) and there's even an image above Mr. Murisaki's typewriter of the "Hollow Earth Theory" on display.Now if you do a little research on the "Hollow Earth Theory", you will find somewhere in there (please use a little discernment as there are a lot of cookoos spouting nonsense or disinfo on the matter), references made to New Schwabenland and the Third Reich's creation of a "Shangri-la" for the Führer. Shangri-la is a reference to James Hilton's novel "Lost Horizon" which many scholars say he owes his fictional land to Tibetan Buddhism's "Shambhala", which itself is referenced in this film. This reference to Hitler is made at the 1:13:25 mark and within that little bit of exposition to the film's backstory you can also see a depiction of Napoleon who pillaged the great pyramids of Giza at the end of the 18th century. And many still believe today that an entrance to the Hollow Earth is located underneath these pyramids and, of course, the Sphinx.I could go on about references in this film to underwater cities & civilizations, the flower of life, lucid dreaming and the like as there are so many in there but let us get back to the title of this review:Now for me, the psychedelic aspect of this film concerns the supreme god of Agartha in the form of a flying ark who when it comes down to meet with Orpheus (Mr. Murisaki), it slowly transforms into a figure resembling a lot what the Hopi & Zuni peoples depict in their own art as beings from the stars or celestial guides. As soon as it lands, a multitude of eyes pop open all over its celestial body. These eyes reminded me so much of shamanic sacred art which itself was inspired by the use of sacred plants by the artists themselves (i would refer you to the art of Pablo Amaringo to see my point). And then, the god of Agartha demands a sacrifice of Mr. Murisaki who offers, just as Odin did in Norse mythology, his eye in exchange for a favor (or wisdom in the case of Odin)! The stuff embedded within this movie is simply fantastic!! Sure the animation is top-notch, the soundtrack is beautiful without being invasive, the hallmarks of Miyazaki's work are emulated by Makoto Shinkai as all artists do in their beginnings but what fascinates me the most is the delivery of these concepts into the subconscious minds of newer generations who are unfamiliar with them. Concepts which you can state as being pure fantasy, heresy or what-not (and join the status quo of millions of *cough-programed* humans) or bring them back to the debate table as a (possible) alternate view of our species fascinating and deep history.

Shizuoka This is a hugely ambitious piece of work. It scores highly on design, and the attempts at creating a fleshed out setting are clear, but numerous unexplained plot conveniences, an overly long run time, and the constant sense that you've seen this done better, ultimately prevent this from standing out from the crowd.The Ghibli parallels are striking. The design of the lead characters (cute, furry sidekick included), the musical cues, and the lush green landscapes. Even more so is the look, feel, even movement, of the numerous supernatural beings. Labelling them Ghibli off casts would be too harsh, but to call them anything other than "heavily inspired by" would be ignoring a patent truth.That's not to say the influences are a problem. For the most part the film looks gorgeous. What held it back mostly was the lack of satisfying development of the Underworld's back story. There was no shortage of explanations, but it was exposition heavy and generally raised more questions. Why did the surface kings and emperor's need to use the Underworld's knowledge and treasure to rule? How did they do so? If their pillaging went on for hundreds of years, why did it take the Underworld so long to decide, at the drop of a hat, to keep them out? And where did those crystals come from suddenly? Asuka's nonsensical behaviour, like chilling on her backside until the sun went down, despite having to get somewhere before the night demons came out, was really jarring. It was impossible to relate to her need to sit and ponder her plight (or perhaps she was just tired) when there was deadly danger she was fully aware of, had just been reminded to avoid. The drying up of a river when it provided the only form of defence was obviously for dramatic effect, but running further and further into increasingly thinning water, when it was the only form of protection, is not something any sane human being would do.These were not the only plot holes, and unfortunately there were enough to take me out of the film and have me making a mental note to rewatch some Ghibli. The overriding message of coping with loss was not a bad one, but the overall narrative was clunky and not emotionally engaging. I doubt I'll recall much of this film two or three weeks down the line, and will unlikely ever rewatch it. It did look pretty, though.

jibranahmad The movie plot was very thought out and deeply emotional. The plot itself was simple but with a mixture of elements and tools of delivery that made it complex and beautiful. The idea of magical elements, connection between characters, and their adventure was very beautiful if you can connect with the characters and their situation. This is the type of movie you have to truly immerse into to appreciate. The detail and settings is what have given me the memorable feelings. The meaning behind each element have enhanced the emotions as well. Some aspects could have been approached better, and some introductions and twists depend a bit too much on the viewer, but overall I loved it!

zacharywoodman Makoto Shinkai is the rising star of the past decade in the anime world. Those who are familiar with his previous films, such as "Voices of a Distant Star" and "5 Centimeters Per Second" know him for his borderline photo-realistic animation and bittersweet stories of unfulfilled love. In many ways, this film continues that dialogue, however in a manner that is far more comparable to the traditional anime.The story, based heavily off of the Japanese myth of Izangai and the underworld (Shinkai studied classic Japanese literature in college), tells of a young girl who hears a distant tune through her radio receiver as she escapes monotonous, lonely everyday life in the woods. One day on her way to her hide out, a "bear" (who is really a spiritual guardian) attacks her on the bridge and she is saved by a mysterious boy. The boy receives an injury during her rescue, and is found days later dead in the river. She ventures into a fantastical underworld-- Agartha--with her teacher, who is seeking to revive his lost wife. The story beautifully conveys the permanent loneliness of loss.Many have compared it to Studio Ghibli's films, calling it a "ripoff" or "copy" of Hiyo Miyazaki's masterpieces. While, no doubt, this is inspired and comparable to Miyazaki, it is very different in many, many ways. First of all, it is a bit more mature thematically than most of Miyazaki's works. Second of all, the animation is stylistically different (opting more for light-oriented realism) and the plot develops a lot slower and more deliberately than what one expects from Miyazaki. Thus complete par- for-par comparisons between the two are misguided. If you approach the film expecting a Miyazaki aspiration, you will be disappointed and that's not the point. It is more like a wondrous marriage of Shinkai's signature melancholy, introspective, cerebral style and Miyazaki's fantastical grandeur. Despite the differences, with this film Sinkai has shown us that if there is one director that can take the tradition Miyazaki and Ghibli has established into the next century it is he.The strongest points of the film include Shinkai's greatly improved character rendering--though, not perfect, far better than his previous efforts. Wonderfully executed plot that develops in a slow, well-thought out manner. Sometimes in such stories of fantasy, directors let the plot get away from them, progressing it far too quickly; however, Shinkai kept the pace at the established rate. The character development was incredible as well.He also absolutely wonderful scenes of what film critic Robert Ebert has deemed "pillow scenes"--short, inconsequential shots such as a dragonfly on the water, or bird in the sky, or tree out a window--to take a quick breather in between important scenes. They are not only absolutely wonderfully animated, but put in to make the plot feel more natural, progress more realistically and, in this case, give the film a cerebral aesthetic which only adds to the movement of the audience. Though an important feature of many great anime movies, this is probably the film I've seen them used the most effectively. In his past films, Shinkai's over-used them, but had just the right amount in this one It's partially Shinkai's masterful control of lighting and photo realism, I found myself pausing and rewinding at times just to admire an inconsequential butterfly or shimmering sky.This is probably only the third anime movie I've given 10 stars, but it deserves every last one of them. Highly recommended.