Reviews

Of Snails and Men is an entertainment movie aimed primarily at a Romanian audience. Giurgiu plays it lightly and safely but really funny moments are rare in-between. The themes feel stale and the nostalgia for the 90s does not really come through. All the characters are clichés starting from the corrupt factory chief down to each worker. Acting is mostly average though a really bad performance from Jean-François Stévenin stands out.

This kind of popcorn movie coming from Giurgiu is a disappointment for me after the controversial Legaturi Bolnavicioase which felt a lot more alive. Multiplex audiences will likely enjoy it moderately but they won't be telling their friends about it.

Rebuild of Evangelion has great animation. And I guess that's the best thing that can be said about it.

The original show was so full of ideas and emotion that even a 25 minutes episode could make you feel drained and confused. The first movie of the remake packs together about six episodes and this means that a lot of scenes had to be cut in order to fit the much shorter time frame and keep the story flowing. The result is that the characters have less depth and we are going too fast from one angel killing to another. It almost seems like a Hollywood remake with great computer-generated imagery and a lot of action. This is missing some of the spirit of the original.

The series was imperfect and highly uneven but in a bizarre way this was also one of the things that made it great. I think Anno should have Evangelion untouched – why remake something that is already as good as it can be? Rebuild of Evangelion is not a failure but it's kind of pointless.

Anime has a lot of mediocre shows and movies, some good ones and only a few greats. Until recently my list of great anime creators was restricted to Hayao Miyazaki, Abe Yoshitoshi, Makoto Shinkai and Hideaki Anno. Now that I've seen Denno Coil I have to add Mitsuo Iso to that list. You can really feel the passion, talent and effort that went into creating this anime.

Denno Coil is basically an excellent children's show though by the end even adults will be left scratching their heads and wondering what is going on. The story is not incomprehensible but there was so much thinking and imagination that went into creating into a complex world that 26 episodes are not enough to explain everything at a leisurely pace.

The action takes place in a future where a virtual space coexists with real space and can be seen using special glasses. Children and some adults use this virtual space mostly for fun but as they get more and more involved in it the danger of attaching yourself to things that aren't real becomes apparent. The quality of the script shines in places, for example a monologue where a character asks herself what is reality and after going through different phases comes to the conclusion that anything that can make you feel and think is real. Don't get me wrong, it's not Shakespeare, but this is a show aimed at young people that's more subtle and intelligent than most adult ones. And while I wouldn't call it light-hearted it manages to throw in a lot of good natured humor too. The quality of the animation is another high point. The fluidity of the movement is exceptional, the backgrounds detailed and the animation of the characters shows well what they are thinking.

Maybe I have standards that are too high, but for me Denno Coil was the first great anime show since Haibane Renmei (and it's been 5 years...). No need to say that I fully recommend it.

Lux ... the underground city of dark imagination where philosophies clash in form of mob-like gangs. Are you a free spirit, religious or do you fancy a well-structured leadership similar in a way to most current governments? Or maybe you do not care for any of these? A traveler descends into this dream-like world in order to find an intensity of life that is missing from his existence. A professional fighter has to find his path after a very violent incident makes him unable to continue his job. A mysterious young girl is able to see the future or rather a possible future. Their paths cross in unexpected ways and their destinies are difficult to fathom.

Texhnolyze has a really special atmosphere, with shots carefully composed and beautifully drawn. It's by no means a fun or fast-moving anime. It includes plenty of violence and some mechanized robots and body parts but the focus is definitely not on getting things blown up but rather on the psychological side. You have to be prepared to give it your full attention in order to understand the sinuous story and visual metaphors. Most important you need at least a minimum affinity to the stylish dark atmosphere because every episode is imbued with it. For those who can feel it and maybe understand it, Texhnolyze will prove one of the most rewarding experiences. It may well be the most mature and artistically valid anime series ever made.

Haibane Renmei is one of the most beautiful, original and meaningful animes. A young girl is born from a cocoon in an old building inhabited by Haibane, angel-like beings, without knowing anything about the world she has just entered and about her past. Very soon she learns that she is a Haibane herself, makes new friends and starts to explore the surroundings. She also gets a name: Rakka. In the first episodes we follow her as she gets to know the other Haibane and some nice people in a nearby town.

It all looks quite peaceful, relaxing and a bit childish but as Rakka learns more about herself we begin to understand there are quite a few similarities between our life and that of the Haibane and a significantly darker and deeper tone kicks in. The whole series begins to reveal itself as a metaphor without losing in the process a driving force that has nothing to do with sterile intellectual analogies. The creator, Abe Yoshitoshi, has a message to tell but he does it with such artistic talent, emotional intensity and subtlety that you can fall in love with the series even if you notice its flaws. Haibane Renmei is for the child in every one of us who is still charmed by a wonderful Christmas tree even if he has reasons to believe there is no Santa.

Leon is one of the most emotionally intense movies ever made. French director Luc Besson uses everything: actors, music, camera angles, lighting to create an unique experience - "It's not realism, it's not naturalism - it's heightened reality" as Gary Oldman very well put it.

In "The making of The Professional" Besson says "If I imagine somebody in the street try to knock on my daughter, I kill the guy, in five seconds. I kill him, and I think "It's in me, I'm a beast!" On this part we can't forget that a part of us, the genetic things inside are much, much older than The Ten Commandments". He certainly uses visceral scenes to create very strong emotion in the movie - the blood running from Mathilda's nose or Stansfield's unforgettable "EVERYONE!" are just a couple of examples. The music and the sound are excellent and are used in a masterly fashion - you can hear Fatman's heart beating desperately or a low claustrophobic sound when Stansfield turns to look at Mathilda's father.

However Leon does not work only on this primary level, it also has an intelligent story. It may seem to be almost a fairy-tale, but don't be fooled - just like his character Besson is serious. This movie has a message: without love we are dead, even if we don't see it. Only true love give meaning to our lives: "everything else reminds me a big yogurt: warm and rancid" as Mathilda says in the original script, which is available on the net under the name Leon Version 1. Is this true in "real life"? I don't know but this movie can make you wonder.

Then of course there's the sensuality. It's hypocritical to deny it, the camera interacts with Mathilda in a mesmerising fashion. It's not sick and it's not degrading: it's art, subtle and beautiful.

Leon is not perfect but it has so many great moments that all its flaws can be forgiven. It's a movie that really should not be missed, unless you are concerned with its amorality. And don't be - Leon is less violent than many action movies and the unusual relationship between the main characters is handled mostly with genuine feeling and tact.