.:My 2 Yen:.
Wednesday, MAY 26, 2004
Innocence not first Anime at Cannes
In fact, the original Ghost in the Shell screened in 2000.
As much as I'd like to say that if there's anywhere 'Innocence' can succeed it's at the ultra-elitist Cannes, that simply isn't true. Those people are prejudiced against animation for the most part; if it were live-action, they'd be tripping all over themselves to lavish it with praise. Since it's animated, though, I just can't see it winning much of anything.
Having seen the film, I can say that it's very complicated and the article's comments about it being inaccessible to a broad audience are most definitely true.
But just the fact that it, or any anime for that matter, is there at all is a notch in its handle already. Who knows maybe some might say "This is like The Matrix" not knowing the truth.
The article even makes it out like the cityscapes of Innocence are somewhat derivative of Blade Runner and The Matrix; when it is the exact opposite--The Matrix was influenced by the first Ghost in the Shell.
I can see the influence of Blade Runner, which is great film, but I find it odd how the article states that the sequel sought inspiration from a movie, in which its own predecessor had inspired. I'm not knocking the Matrix, at least not too hard. I do think, however, that Ghost in the Shell has had a much greater influence on the Matrix Trilogy, than it will prove to have on Innocence.
Mamoru Oshii also directed Avalon in 2001.
However, aside from both films being sci-fi epics set in dystopian futures, it may be hard-pressed for some to find any direct similarities between any of the Matrix films and Innocence. Some didn't notice any visual or thematic similarities between the two. Motoko doesn’t show up until the last 20 minutes of the film and then is simply a fragment of her net personality downloaded into a cyber doll which fights alongside Batou. She moves like a marionette, not like Priss from Bubblegum Crisis, and doesn’t look like Trinity, since she doesn’t even resemble Motoko.
Directors’ Fortnight, another anime rumored to be screened at Cannes, is not.
The older article to which I am referring (about the Directors' Fortnight) was titled "More Anime at Cannes," leading me to think that they were using "Cannes" as a catchall term for all films shown in the city of Cannes around the time of the film festival.
But Cannes has still regonized animation in the past. The wonderful 1973 French film Fantastic Planet was awarded the Grand Prix, and given some of the competition this year, I'd say that Innocence has a pretty good chance at Cannes.
There's no mention of Angel's Egg or "L'Oeuf de l'Ange" on Cannes’ site but the original Ghost in the Shell did show in 2000.
I'm not sure who exactly was on the panel but I know Tarantino was the Chair.
He's not a bad judge, but he's still a demagogue.
And consider the fact that 99% of anime movies don’t make much money outside of Japan. In some cases anime makes less than 11 million. In most cases anime makes less than 1 million.