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curtain twitcher -> RE: All Things Anime (14/6/2007 2:22:39 PM)
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Ghost In The Shell 2: Innocence. (Dir.Mamoru Oshii, 2004).
[image]http://www.mostricci.com/public/ghost-in-the-shell-2-innocence-3.jpg[/image]
GITS Innocence is (or rather was) the much anticipated sequel to Mamoru Oshii's anime classic Ghost In The Shell which first appeared on our screens in 1995. It is the year 2032, and the world is trying to come to terms with the technology revolution that is this future, the dwindling race of fully human specimens (us) has to peacefully co-exist with purely mechanical androids, and cyborgs which are essentially crossovers of synthetic and organic parts, but in GITS cyborgs still have a 'ghost' (robot with a human spirit, that in turn makes them very vulnerable to ghost hacking) which makes the distinction between humans and robots even shadier. Since the departure of the Major from the first film, the story centers around the now central character Batou, who also like his partner Major Motoko Kusanagi is so fully cyberized the only things that can distinguish him from a robot is his ghost and his brain. Several characters from the first film make another appearance like Togusa the mostly human member of Section 9, who is unwillingly partnered with Batou, Chief Aramaki and the technical expert Ishikawa. Batou and Togusa are sent to investigate a series of gruesome murders that have been committed by dolls for which their primary function is for sex. The dolls posses a ghost which makes them very desirable to their customers. They are traced back to a company called LOCO SOLUS, and as Togusa and Batou go ever deeper, they soon realise that these are no ordinary set of murders, or ordinary set of circumstances, and in turn realise that this could be an investigation that is too dangerous, even for Section 9 to come out of unharmed.....
I thought this film was masterful, because i like the way Oshii has used philosophy as the the basis for 'the plot underneath' as it were, as in the plot that is not staring us in the face and the fact that he makes you get your thinking caps on and go deeper than what's on the surface. Innocence is not a film just about cyborgs and government conspiracies, it is a film that explores inanimate objects like dolls as representative forms for artificial life, and as humanity strives for perfection, humans see dolls as the human form perfected, pure and unattainable, and yet only just out of reach. But judging from this film it seems that we would be willing to go to any lengths to obtain it, no matter what the sacrifice, albeit the very sacrifice of humanity itself. It arises the questions: 'How can we make the distinction of when we stop becoming human, and start to become something else entirely? Are we still human beings if we have lost the very substance that have made us what we are: Our humanity'? The animation although subdued is fluid and precise, and has an acute attention to detail. This makes the characters move with an amazing, flowing, graceful accuracy. Although some of the scenes (note the carnival sequence) border on the verge of surrealism, because the paranoia is enhanced by cybernetics so pervasive that even what you see may not be real, there is still a foundation in solid technological reality within them because the neuromancer-esque technology is extrapolated from current trends to maintain believability. Another thing i thought was truly touching was the feature of a Basset hound that is under Batou's wing, (in actual fact Oshii's trademark is him featuring a Basset Hound in all his films) the animation is beautifully done and every time it appears on the screen one can only feel the dog represents for Batou a cocoon of safety and the reassurance that there is still some human left in him, despite his synthetic body. He realises that just because his physique is synthetic, his heart in metaphorical sense doesn't have to be too. *Tear trickles down my face*. The plot, which is definitely not the main focus of the film is depicted as a solidly set cyber-noir detective tale, filled out with interesting concepts and sugared with sufficient twists and zags. It's the only part of the film that can honestly be said to have come from Shirow, but his hallmarks have generslly still carried through the into the film solidly: Dense involved politics, mixed morals, an overriding sense of paranoia and a pervasive use of almost alien technology. Asides from that there is no question that this is definitely Oshii's film. For the first time since his live action art film Talking Head, Oshii both writes and directs. The product is wildly different in theme but nearly identical to that early experiment, placing philosophy and deep, meaningful discussion above all else. The rest of Oshii's recent projects, though quite distinctive and set in various locales, also share this film's dark, atmospheric and subdued mood and palette of introspection, repressed violence, and a morbid view of the human condition.
To be honest with you, for me criticising this film has been quite a difficult task, because i didn't find as many obvious flaws as i thought i would, so i will simply just state to you what faults i thought the film did have. First off, if anyone else i knew reviewed the film they would probably criticise it for being a tough film to absorb, which is undoubtedly true if you have absolutely no clue about anything related to philosophy, because that is what much of the subject matter involves, and you may think that it is far too high brow and bordering on the most pretentious piece of popular culture since Brian Sewell. You may be right, but it all depends on how you view these types of films. The film is undoubtedly impressive for it's technology soaked dystopian visions and beautiful visuals, but i honestly understand and to some extent agree with people who tend towards the view that Oshii didn't care enough about the plot or characters to restrain his desire to lecture the viewer unendingly with his expansive knowledge on philosophy and show off his metaphoric prowess. Believe me, i am not exaggerating when i say that probably a full quarter of the dialogue is composed of truisms and quotes from sources ranging from eighteenth century enlightenment philosophers to the Bible. Though the encyclopedic vocabulary of the main protagonists is very impressive, large chunks of the film feel more like reading an entire edition of David Hume's An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding in the running time of two hours. You may enjoy the deep discussions and appreciate the fact that the film is brave enough to address such issues at length, but i understand the people that think more often than not it feels slightly pretentious, rather tedious and frankly slightly irritating. I do also wonder (although i personally did find the philosophical framework of it pretty intriguing), though there are some very interesting points raised, whether the types of people who are well-read and thoughtful enough to appreciate this film's philosophical exploration are personally inclined towards the notion that it is somewhat generic, as the film itself (as in the surface plot) doesn't really add anything particularly impressive to it's rather broad literature review (sarcastically referencing to the fact that the film's 'real' plot drive according to Oshii is the themes of philosophy, rather than the surface story of the LOCO SOLUS scandal that you are led to believe is the main plot theme). Some would be of the opinion that the clichés of the film are a great many indeed; the main characters quoting and citing poetry and philosophy to each other, rather than interacting in the normal fashion. But these in my opinion are merely very minute negative blips on an otherwise larger, more positive radar.
With philosophy, animation and action combined Oshii is able to weave a tale of mystery, excitement and imagination that delves (admittedly rather uncomfortably) deep into our psyches and tries to find an answer to the biggest question that humanity has the misfortune of being burdened with: 'What makes us human'? For anyone who has studied philosophy or is interested in it, i definitely recommend this title, but if you are not too hot on the philosophical aspect of these things, but just want to view the outstanding animation and the action, then i would still recommend this to you without hesitation. So essentially this film will still have something for you if you prefer one aspect to another, for Innocence is a rarity in cinema which accommodates all it's traits in (almost) perfect harmony. Okay, so the two aspects of the plot are slightly shaky, but they are still not big enough a deal so that they spoil your overall enjoyment of the feature. It has it's flaws like any other film, but the scale of the project seemed so vast and unreal that you wouldn't have expected it to have come out of production without a few battle scars now would you? You have to hand it to Oshii regardless, what he achieved was still pretty damn special and it is a very unique film despite all the problems that it encountered. Which is something the likes of Hollywood seems to be lacking these day's. From reading this conclusion and this entire review, despite the faults Oshii has in his films, you can say this for him: The man really does try, and no matter what (usually) reasonably trivial flaws occur in them the final products always turn out to be something incredibly special in their own way, which is a statement you couldn't apply to most film directors. This is a truly sublime film, that will leave your head buzzing with questions- and possibly confusion.
8/10.
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