Back to Basic

Between having the whole theatre just for the three of us, and coming out of the theatre feeling like having come back from another world, strange feeling of seeing someone else in the vicinity and making the park attendance wait for our car (the only one on that highest floor), I must say, I came out with quite a disapointment.

In one way, the movie's telling about life - don't fear to live, don't throw away your life and kill yourself because life is precious. And it is precisely because we know we're gonna die anyway in the end that life is precious yare yare yara... Very good message indeed. But it's being delivered in such complicated storyline. Basically I think it's the only message that the movie's trying to deliver. It's cool really, the way they said it, but yeah... It brought confusions on the way...

The scenery's not as lively and beautiful as Hayao's. If you've watched Spirited Away - it's far from that. In SA, the buildings look sooo real, it's like almost 3D. But in GS, it's truly like a paint - not a detailed one but more like a rough one where you can just make it - oh that's the sea, that must be the beach and stuffs. Really, the details aren't that great. The people, I must say looks way more realistic for most. Well, they still have that one or two char that have those unbelievably big eyes. And the tears are still way too big for their face - though it's kinda better in a way, at least not "bloppy" but still, not much detail in the artworks, in the way they move and such and such.

And even though it's quite different from Hayao's works, it still brought on some familiar theme. Such as how the witch conceal himself (I thought the witch was a she, apparently he's a he.) with magic so that he looked way younger than what he truly is (just like the bad witch in Howl's Moving Castle). And the true name of each things (like Sen's real name in Spirited Away which was Chihiro. The difference was only she was introduced by her real name and then given a false name. In here, it was the other way around. He was introduced with a given name then later on we found out his true name).



Ah, and there's lack of explanation in the beginning. We were given nothing at all (plus the sub was really fast that I couldn't make out anything except "Created by EA" Lol... Crazy...) so I was truly clueless on what the story's about. Kinda frustrating.

And the plot's kinda slow as well. It's like we have to walk in the dark without any lights whatsoever. Only by watching it till the end would we know what's what. And even then, we don't really know the whole story. I'm still wondering about a few stuffs in the movie. Aih2.. Too complicated...

And I was surprised to see in the poster that it's one of the Box office movie in Jap the first week it came out. My bro guessed that it's because there are so many suicidal cases in Jap that the movie just hit it off.

But for us, I guess it's kinda irrelevant. It's just another reminder that life's important but since we know that, so that's just it.

Anyway, despite all that, I like the song "Teru no Uta". Though I think it's ridiculous that they have the whole song sang in the movie. Like really sang by the girl. So throughout the songs we just watch her sang, looking at the "amazing" scenery and the boy who suddenly cried. Then somehow (they were not in good terms before) they ended up together and the boy telling the girl his story... Weird...

Ah, the interesting thing in the movie is that the boy was filled with fear that his body was taken over by darkness (or so they said) and it left the light behind - which apparently eventually became his shadow that follows him around, trying to get his body back. That one is pretty cool in a way.

But overall, the character building was not that much. Basically it only focuses on the boy and there's not much story other than his to tell... Oh yeah, and the fact that the boy's sposed to be 17 years old... I think he doesn't look like one. More like younger. But then again, I didn't look like one myself. So I guess I can't complaint bout that. Lolz...

Wow, I've been rambling about the movie...

Anyway, I guess it's a pretty interesting movie overall, but yeah... I have to admit I feel kinda disappointed at the end of it, esp since I've been craving to watch Ghibli's artwork. Too much things that goes unexplained.... And I guess I've watched too much Hayao's handywork that presents great details that I've come to really appreciate them very much. Lol...

Ah well.. I'm out...