"Her Memories" tells a cosmic version of a medieval nautical story in the future universe. A group of people received a distress signal from the ruins of the universe and decided to go to the rescue. In addition to the claustrophobic space like the ruins of the industrial age, there were also opera ladies and endless gorgeous phantoms that accompanied the aria of "Madame Butterfly". The film integrates many elements such as cosmic space, ghost castle, opera, etc., but it is not abrupt. Whether to choose illusory memories or real reality, although 20 years later, this story may not be so amazing, but it is probably as said in the film - "memory is not a place to escape".
"The Stinkiest Weapon" is an absurd drama full of dark humor. An ordinary member, because the ordinary member is very important, he said twice that he accidentally ate a drug called "the smelliest weapon" and turned into the strongest weapon, and he steadfastly executed the boss's order to bring the drug to Tokyo, Destroyed Japan by the way. As the only country ever struck by nuclear weapons, Japan has a deep fear of weapons of mass destruction. The name of "stinkiest" and the ending of Japan's destruction embody the "anti-intellectual" thinking of "anti-war" and fear of technology. However, the connotation of the film does not stop there. The surname "Tanaka" of ordinary members is a big surname in Japan, which represents the ordinary social animals in Japan. The boss's "oral order" will be executed without hesitation, almost crazy and firm, and it is a poignant satire on the ignorance and loyalty of Japanese office workers. Is it not the case for the brainwashing education of ideology? It turned out that the most terrifying thing was not the weapons, but the people who had distorted values and lost the ability to think independently.
If you don't work, you lose, but if you work, you lose your country (laughs).
I always think that in fantasy works, no matter how unpredictable and bizarre the setting itself is, as long as you can justify it within the setting. If you attack this work because it's illogical that "taking medicine can make you invulnerable", then I can only say: my friend, it's time to take medicine.
"Street of Cannons" was directed by Otomo Keyang himself. It is full of strong anti-war and anti-militarism thoughts. Looking back at this film on the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Anti-Fascist War, you can feel an animator and an artist. Workers' independent thinking and responsibility. The whole film is permeated with a gloomy atmosphere, and wars are rife in every corner of the town - military uniforms, salute first thing when you wake up, math class teaching ballistics, and even the clock by the bedside is a cannon. People who live in the Street of Cannons, their daily task is to keep firing cannons outwards. However, the populace didn't even know why the cannons were fired! The irony is that they are still asking to protect the working environment of workers by firing pollution-free cannonballs, and saying things like "a small negligence can kill someone" while working. Children grow up into new war madmen under the influence of such militarism.
After all, animation is a form of artistic expression. Another director, Makoto Shinkai, who is well-known to Chinese audiences, once concluded that animation has the following advantages over live-action films:
First, animation can freely shape the background and light and shadow, A live-action movie would cost a fortune to achieve a similar effect.
Second, animation can make the audience's attention focus more on the character rather than the actor, which is conducive to the shaping of the character.
Third, animation is easier to express the rhythm of pictures and music, so that the coordination of sound and picture can be accurate to the frame, which is unimaginable in live-action movies.
Fourth, the animation can naturally make people and animals interact in the same picture without appearing to be contrary
. Fifth, the live-action film shooting may temporarily change the content of the drama due to the scene situation, which is not conducive to the implementation of the script intent.
"Street of Cannons" adopts a one-shot shooting method, that is, the shooting process is shot from beginning to end without editing a long shot. Compared with the recently Oscar-winning film, which was also shot using the one-shot method, watching a movie behind the head in 360 degrees, maybe we can see more of the advantages of animation as a form of expression.
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