Animated films, even more so than their live-action counterparts, often don’t have stories strong enough to fill out a 90 minute running time. Featurettes are one way to get around this problem (Max Fleischer’s Popeye featurettes are among the best cartoons ever made) as is releasing hour-long OVAs. Producer Katsuhiro Otomo’s taken a slightly different route by combining three handsomely animated science fiction stories as Memories.
Absolutely nothing connects the three segments in Memories; Otomo freely admits that he originally intended the film to be a series of OVAs, and it shows. Koji Morimoto directed the first of the segments ("Magnetic Rose"), combining elements of gothic horror and highbrow science fiction. The second segment ("Stink Bomb"), directed by Tensai Okamura, is a black comedy about a biological weapon run amok. The final segment, directed by Otomo himself, is an Orwellian anti-war meditation. All three sequences feature radically different graphic styles, yet all contain often stunningly effective animation.
"Magnetic Rose" is the most satisfying of the three segments. Morimoto starts off with what appears to be a homage to both Alien and 2001: A Space Odyssey but then veers off into a gothic horror tale closer in spirit to Edgar Allen Poe, or perhaps H. P. Lovecraft. A crew of astronauts discovers a forgotten satellite (or is it a tomb?) constructed for a once-famous opera diva, which grants Morimoto the right to indulge us with some beautifully detailed backgrounds evoking old European opera houses. Morimoto also effectively interweaves excerpts from Puccini’s opera Madame Butterfly during key moments within "Magnetic Rose". American audiences probably best know Morimoto from his eerie work on The Animatrix, but "Magnetic Rose" better demonstrates his skill at creating and maintaining a consistent, creepy mood. In fact, I’d like to see him direct a feature-length animated horror film one day.
The other segments aren’t as successful. "Stink Bomb" has some funny slapstick sequences, in which destruction reaches such absurd extremes that it’s comical. However, it’s hampered by the fact that biological weapons are not only real but aren’t a laughing matter when used. I enjoyed the sequence, but it’s a lightweight compared to "Magnetic Rose". Otamo’s segment, despite some interesting camerawork, is the most derivative of the three episodes. The visuals too closely resemble those Gerard Scarf created for Pink Floyd in The Wall, and even the soundtrack sounds too Floydian, echoing such songs as "Welcome to the Machine" and "Goodbye Blue Sky." It’s a nice homage, but it’s nothing the audience hasn’t seen before. Techno music plays over the end credits in a jarring transition which suggests Otamo stopped even pretending that Memories was a unified concept.
Despite its flaws, Memories is still worth your time as an interesting, well-crafted and brief anime. It’s a welcome respite for those longing for Japanese animation to return to form. After seeing it, check out Otamo’s better work in both Akira and Metropolis.
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Other Anime Reviews Metropolis Review* Cowboy Bebop:Best Sessions Review Millennium Actress Review Cowboy Bebop Review Tokyo Godfathers Review* |
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