review ~~ Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade. It's a dog eat dog world.

If Anakin Skywalker's decent into evil had been half as interesting as this, I would have worshiped George Lucas forever. It's scary the ways you could compare this movie to Revenge of the Sith, and this one would totally kick its ass.

It seems to be anime film weekend for me. Yesterday it was Millenium Actress, today it's Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade. And whew! What an interesting movie that was. Reminded me strangely of The Devil's Own, but with in-your-face metaphor and much more artsy vibe.

Non-spoilery commentary:

Overall, a very good film. Totally different from Millenium Actress, so I'm glad I didn't watch them both in the same day. Where MA was fairly swiftly paced, Jin-Roh was often slow, smoothly making it's way along and dropping a trail of breadcrumbs for you to follow.

Summary: Jin-Roh is about an AU modern Japan that resembles Israel with it's constant terrorist attacks and State Of Emergency At All Times urban life. Constant rioting, constant fear. And although tensions between local police forces and the terrorist underground are high, there's also quite a bit of tension within the bureaucracy and agents of the various police and peacekeeping forces within the capital city. The whole situation is a powderkeg. In the midst of all this, Fuse, a member of a special forces unit, freezes under pressure and witnesses a suicide bombing by a young teenage girl that leaves him emotionally unstable and starts a chain of events with personal, political, and potentially lethal ramifications.

I don't know if I *liked* this movie, per se. Just like I wasn't sure if I liked The Devil's Own or Black Hawk Down. Movies like this... it's very hard to like them given the subject matter, characters, and themes. It's quite dark and quite nihilistic, with ZERO comedy relief. Seriously. I think ONE character smiled in this movie, and that character wasn't smiling for genuine reasons most of the time.

Nevertheless, though I'm not in a hurry to watch it any time soon, artistically I appreciate and applaud it, and have to say it's one of the best anime films I've seen in a while. And as far as dark subject matter, morally ambiguous characters, interesting plot, and blood content goes-- this was a much better movie than Perfect Blue, the only other anime film I've seen that's really comparable to it as far as genre goes. Perfect Blue was freaky and weird and unsettling and made me jump a few times in surprise, but it wasn't as well-executed and I wasn't as sympathetic with the main character of PB as I was with this film. And it was more of a conventional horror suspense film plot, whereas this storyline was more...twisty. And sick. And did I mention nihilistic? Although, thankfully it wasn't as bloody as I feared. There was some blood, but no more than you'd expect in any regular R-rated war movie with gun battles.

In short: a good movie though not one where I want to personally befriend anybody in it. Still, though the characters are all dark in some way, the're compelling to watch and by the end of the film you are deeply interested in the choices they will make and the way they justify those choices.

Also, it's a bit like spy v. spy. Which is always fun.

Oh, and the whole thing is seeped in fairy tale metaphors. Not you g-rated fairy tales either; we're talking' old-school R rated fairy tale metaphors.

CONCLUSION: Watch this movie! It's good. It's worth your time. Sit down and watch it without pause or interuption. Soak it up. And then when you're done, watch something bright and fluffy like Ranma 1/2 to help you recover.

( spoilery commentary-- filled with questions, WTF reactions, squee, and OMGs )

Anyway, I can't think of anything else right now.  But I'd love to chat about it, so leave your thoughts in the comments!  This movie begs to be talked about after you watch it.

Edit: I adore th ending theme song in this film. Anyone got any of the music?

Edit 2: I just realized that I went through an entire review of an anime film without talking about the animation quality. What a crime! The animation here is the cream of the crop. Excellent all around, not a moment less than detailed and rich. Not as visually attractive as MA, which was all swirling color and movement. JR is a very dark palette, like early X Files episodes. Lots of muted colors. But the overall quality and detail... it's way up there. Visually stunning.

Dr. Who

9th Dr. Who - Bad Wolf

Oh WOW.

( Shipshipshipshipship! And... scary! And... Jack/TARDIS OTP! )

I need fic soooooo badly.

EDIT: He said they visited ancient Japan! SAMURAI CHAMPLOO CROSSOVER! BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL CROSSOVER! HUZZAH!


[crossposted to time_and_chips]