GHOST IN THE SHELL 2: INNOCENCE
July 24th 2009 23:10
Based on the original manga created by; Masamune Shirow
Director: Mamoru Oshii
Written by: Mamoru Oshii
Producers: Mitsuhisa Ishikawa & Toshio Suzuki
Starring: Richard Epcar (Batou), Crispin Freeman (Togusa), William Knight (Aramaki), Barbara Goodson (Haraway), Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (Motoko Kusanagi), Richard LeParmentier (Kim), Nicholas Smith (Ishikawa), Garfield Morgan (Koga) & Richard Cansino (Wakabayashi)
Produced by: Go Fish Pictures & Production IG
Released by: Madman Entertainment
Running Time: 95 minutes Rating: M
Selected for the 2004 Cannes Film Festival this particular feature in the Ghost in the Shell (GITS) saga has been one film that has eluded me for some time, now I have finally managed to track down a copy of it and been able to cast upon it the eternal emerald gaze of the Green Lantern on its contents. Upon the initial moments of watching this film there were two things that immediately sprang into my head, similarities with the Blade Runner film that was directed by Ridley Scott and starred Harrison Ford along with the fact that there was a heavy element of surrealism, enough to satisfy the most jaded of surrealists I suspect. When the waters had finally calmed, the seagulls ceased their cawing I began to see just what the Warchowski brothers might have been tapping into with their Matrix films. Allegedly they were heavily influenced by the whole manga/anime thing and Masamune Shirow was one of those key manga influences upon their work.
Of course anything to do with GITS is an exposure to not only cyberpunk noir anime styling’s but also realms of philosophy and esoteric thought that you almost wonder at some stage “Do I need a degree or PhD in modern and post modern philosophy to get into this flick?” Certainly you cannot be blamed for thinking such thoughts as the dialogue does tend to go off into the realms of pondering the true nature of existence and reality that are likely to leave you slightly floundering. This is because apparently the director/writer Mamoru Oshii does so love putting out there a movie that is not simply a form of entertainment but also a work that will provoke deep thoughts, which will make you think and ponder. I have to say that I’m not quite sure at what it is that he is trying to get at, this could be due to the fact that I can be rather obtuse or perhaps I’m too focused on the action and drama. Who knows?
On one level I feel that the very nature of humanity is one of the driving themes behind this particular story, other themes that play an important role in the overall story are love, evolution, information and politics – politics of self which ties in with the nature of humanity as well as corporate and societal politics; the politics of greed and power along with the notion of essentially what is ethical. Deep, well I did say that Mr Oshii does like a complex and compelling story to drive along the drama or at least that is how it seems to me. And frankly looking back on the original Ghost in the Shell movie I don’t think it would be a GITS film if it didn’t have that particular unique depth and perspective to it.
The movie opens with a scene that is so reminiscent of Blade Runner that it’s not funny and Mr Oshii himself has said that that particular film is a big influence on himself and others who attempt to create films set in a future world whether they be Japanese, American, Chinese or Czechoslovakian, it is a film that has effectively defined its own paradigm and become one of several ways that such a backdrop is portrayed as well as accepted by an audience. It could be said that such pigeonholing is a bad thing, but then again it can also be seen as a means of indicating to us the viewing public just what this story is going to be like and act as a signpost to point us in the particular direction that the film may take. Interestingly there is a rather unique element in this opening scene that you will definitely not see in Blade Runner and that is the rather organic look of the aircraft and in a way of the vast sprawling neon landscape of the city over which this vehicle flies. It’s almost like seeing an insect flying over a swarm of fireflies and then later on in the film there is another scene where Batou and Togusa are flying to a locale and the aircraft they’re on looks very much like a bird.
What actually is the charm of this film and its predecessor is that it takes certain genres, cyberpunk and noir and effectively takes them in directions you would not expect them to go. Cyberpunk for years has often had evil corporations at the root of things dire and despicable and noir often employed the medium of a hardboiled detective as the primary protagonist. GITS 2: Innocence employs these tropes but rather than sticking to accepted norms of these genres it adds its own twist, the corporation in this particular film; Lucas Solis is completely faceless and inhuman it is a mysterious entity that seemingly exists only to fulfil its own agenda which is never seemingly defined in the film. The very hierarchy who control the company’s production output have long since left behind their humanity and have effectively become subsumed into the larger corporate ‘whole’. And as for the hardboiled detective, well Batou can be considered hardboiled but he seems to be a lot more clued into things than his colleagues and opponents believe him to be.
Look to be honest on a purely excitement level, this film did not excite me as much as Memories of Nobody did, in fact I don’t think I’ve been that excited and awestruck since the day I first saw the very first Star Wars film all those years ago in a cinema in Christchurch. That having been said I did enjoy GITS 2: Innocence because it was a finely crafted, engaging film filled with depth, action, drama, pathos and dare I say it rather dry humour. For me the funniest scene in the film has to be when Batou and Togusa go to confront some Yakuza gang who are heavily involved in the case they’re currently working. Togusa says to Batou that they’re only going there (the Yakuza HQ) to talk and ask some questions, after a while Batou agrees to this proposal. The two of them get there and Batou says to the various hoodlums look we want to see your boss, naturally the gangsters aren’t having any of this and draw various guns and firearms. Does Batou attempt to remonstrate with them – no he draws his Minami machine gun and lets them have it, when the dust finally settles Togusa says “Didn’t you promise no shooting” to which Batou replies “I really tried, I swear, but they pulled out their guns.” Nothing like a little bit of dry humour to spice things up I always say.
If you like your anime with substantial depth and thought provoking storylines then GITS 2: Innocence is the one for you. On this particular DVD you not only get the feature film but also the very first episode of the television series Ghost in the Shell; Stand Alone Complex, the series that I have to say should be a strong contender for the longest named series or perhaps that honour could go to the second season of said series? Regardless it was entertaining seeing this initial episode. GITS 2: Innocence is a finely crafted example of an anime, well worth tracking down and viewing if you have the time and frankly at an hour and thirty five minutes it’s not going to seriously eat into your schedule or daytime routine.
Director: Mamoru Oshii
Written by: Mamoru Oshii
Producers: Mitsuhisa Ishikawa & Toshio Suzuki
Starring: Richard Epcar (Batou), Crispin Freeman (Togusa), William Knight (Aramaki), Barbara Goodson (Haraway), Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (Motoko Kusanagi), Richard LeParmentier (Kim), Nicholas Smith (Ishikawa), Garfield Morgan (Koga) & Richard Cansino (Wakabayashi)
Produced by: Go Fish Pictures & Production IG
Released by: Madman Entertainment
Running Time: 95 minutes Rating: M
Selected for the 2004 Cannes Film Festival this particular feature in the Ghost in the Shell (GITS) saga has been one film that has eluded me for some time, now I have finally managed to track down a copy of it and been able to cast upon it the eternal emerald gaze of the Green Lantern on its contents. Upon the initial moments of watching this film there were two things that immediately sprang into my head, similarities with the Blade Runner film that was directed by Ridley Scott and starred Harrison Ford along with the fact that there was a heavy element of surrealism, enough to satisfy the most jaded of surrealists I suspect. When the waters had finally calmed, the seagulls ceased their cawing I began to see just what the Warchowski brothers might have been tapping into with their Matrix films. Allegedly they were heavily influenced by the whole manga/anime thing and Masamune Shirow was one of those key manga influences upon their work.
The movie opens with a scene that is so reminiscent of Blade Runner that it’s not funny and Mr Oshii himself has said that that particular film is a big influence on himself and others who attempt to create films set in a future world whether they be Japanese, American, Chinese or Czechoslovakian, it is a film that has effectively defined its own paradigm and become one of several ways that such a backdrop is portrayed as well as accepted by an audience. It could be said that such pigeonholing is a bad thing, but then again it can also be seen as a means of indicating to us the viewing public just what this story is going to be like and act as a signpost to point us in the particular direction that the film may take. Interestingly there is a rather unique element in this opening scene that you will definitely not see in Blade Runner and that is the rather organic look of the aircraft and in a way of the vast sprawling neon landscape of the city over which this vehicle flies. It’s almost like seeing an insect flying over a swarm of fireflies and then later on in the film there is another scene where Batou and Togusa are flying to a locale and the aircraft they’re on looks very much like a bird.
What actually is the charm of this film and its predecessor is that it takes certain genres, cyberpunk and noir and effectively takes them in directions you would not expect them to go. Cyberpunk for years has often had evil corporations at the root of things dire and despicable and noir often employed the medium of a hardboiled detective as the primary protagonist. GITS 2: Innocence employs these tropes but rather than sticking to accepted norms of these genres it adds its own twist, the corporation in this particular film; Lucas Solis is completely faceless and inhuman it is a mysterious entity that seemingly exists only to fulfil its own agenda which is never seemingly defined in the film. The very hierarchy who control the company’s production output have long since left behind their humanity and have effectively become subsumed into the larger corporate ‘whole’. And as for the hardboiled detective, well Batou can be considered hardboiled but he seems to be a lot more clued into things than his colleagues and opponents believe him to be.
Look to be honest on a purely excitement level, this film did not excite me as much as Memories of Nobody did, in fact I don’t think I’ve been that excited and awestruck since the day I first saw the very first Star Wars film all those years ago in a cinema in Christchurch. That having been said I did enjoy GITS 2: Innocence because it was a finely crafted, engaging film filled with depth, action, drama, pathos and dare I say it rather dry humour. For me the funniest scene in the film has to be when Batou and Togusa go to confront some Yakuza gang who are heavily involved in the case they’re currently working. Togusa says to Batou that they’re only going there (the Yakuza HQ) to talk and ask some questions, after a while Batou agrees to this proposal. The two of them get there and Batou says to the various hoodlums look we want to see your boss, naturally the gangsters aren’t having any of this and draw various guns and firearms. Does Batou attempt to remonstrate with them – no he draws his Minami machine gun and lets them have it, when the dust finally settles Togusa says “Didn’t you promise no shooting” to which Batou replies “I really tried, I swear, but they pulled out their guns.” Nothing like a little bit of dry humour to spice things up I always say.
If you like your anime with substantial depth and thought provoking storylines then GITS 2: Innocence is the one for you. On this particular DVD you not only get the feature film but also the very first episode of the television series Ghost in the Shell; Stand Alone Complex, the series that I have to say should be a strong contender for the longest named series or perhaps that honour could go to the second season of said series? Regardless it was entertaining seeing this initial episode. GITS 2: Innocence is a finely crafted example of an anime, well worth tracking down and viewing if you have the time and frankly at an hour and thirty five minutes it’s not going to seriously eat into your schedule or daytime routine.
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