Letters from Heather

It's hard to believe this film even exists. I've been struggling to get my hands on it as much as I did when I sought out The Notebook (this was before it was aired repeatedly on television, over and over to ad nauseum). I'd seen the box for the dvd the last time I'd been to Blockbuster, but for some reason I didn't take the initiative to rent it. I am extremely glad I did, and I'll tell you now, there's little to compare to Otomo's incredible work here. I can't believe Wikipedia says the movie was in production for ten years before its release in 2004. That means it began life when I was what, just nine? That's ridiculous. This work screams to be watched, and if you see just one trailer, you're going to become more than curious.

Steamboy (スチームボーイ) begins with a mad-scientist style accident involving lot's of steam-filled pipe-work connecting to some unseen machine. The entire project literally explodes in a cloud of steam that, I imagine, killed most of the staff and heavily injures son and co-founder of the project, Edward Steam...I know, they have the best last name...No really, it's so simple it's clever and admirable as the film chugs away! His father, Lloyd Steam, is depicted as the villain of this disastrous mishap, and the entire accident causes a sort of trickle-down effect that results in the damaged Edward Steam to retake their project(s) and build something horribly destructive in place of pure scientific curiosity and pursuit in the name, of course, steam.

History then moves forwards six years to the life of their son and grandson, James Ray Steam. He's very young, probably no more than twelve, and yet he's capable of controlling and understanding the way technology works around him. He spends his days helping maintain a textile plant, which we see early on in all its 1866 English glory, and building up his own invention with his mother at their Manchester home. The story takes off when a package arrives at their door holding a small metal ball, schematics, and directions to protect the ball from anyone at the "foundation". Well, of course, two members of the O'Hara Foundation arrive to take claim to it, but Ray catches on quick and is thrust into fleeing when his grandfather lands on their doorstep at the same time and commences in fighting the visitors.

Up until this point the animation and environments are stunning, and despite all the grime and grey brought up by the steam that runs this version of our world–it is fully fleshed out by Otomo and his crew. However, it is during this chase scene and the moments that follow it that we really see the prized director of Akira shine again, as he takes on a ride...I don't even want to spoil for you. Ray finds himself entering a world he's only known through his father's work and the general science of steam. As he's taken for a ride, he'll find there is much more to his inherited steam business.

Also! Be sure to check out Wikipedia after you've watched the movie, there's a small summary of the events at the end credits that I must have been too tired to entirely comprehend. Oops, I completely forgot to mention that my favorite voice actor, Kari Wahlgren and the amazing Anna Paquin do and amazing job in their roles in the English dub.

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Last week, my parents opted to buy a ten-dollar, seven-day unlimited rentals pass from Blockbuster and we were able to watch more movies than we ever rent in a week. The only catch is you can only take out one game or movie at a time, but that's a small price to pay when you live just a few blocks away from the store. When they left on Friday to drive my sister down state, my brother and I bought our own seven-day pass and watched several movies with it, including: Taken, Gran Torino, Role Models and Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. When my parents came home yesterday and my brother went out, I used our unlimited rental to rent The Sky Crawlers, and though I was impressed by the beautifully subtle movements of the characters under Mamoru Oshii direction, the story itself was not so charming.

I'll admit, I did tear up once. I don't think it was during the scene after credits, but it was just before that. This movie pissed me off just as much as the last movie my parents rented (Changeling), ok, it didn't get me quite that furious–but the overwhelming swirl of uncertainty and unexplained information had me reeling. It wasn't until somewhere in the middle of the movie that the status of the children flying these planes was truly explored, and it was mentioned that these children were actually genetically modified humans called Kildren (キルドレ). These Kildren are incapable of growing up, though the commanding officer, Suito Kusanagi is keen to point out early on that it isn't a matter of being "unable" to grow up, but "unwilling." *

As it is soon revealed that the Kildren either block out a good portion of their reality, or live their lives in psychologically disturbed agony, it slowly becomes apparent that there is an even deeper element of dystopia to their endless war. The main pilot, a boy named Yūichi Kannami is actually the same pilot he has replaced–the "deceased" Jin Rho. This isn't just an endless war, but a sick soap opera where their battle "theatres" are full of invincible characters that are either revived beyond the normal point of human existence (death) or genetically cloned to reappear with ghost memories, similar to the explorations of Oshii's more famous work: Ghost in the Shell.

I apologize if I've spoiled anything with my vague summary, but the very thought that this kind of alternate reality could very probably exist in a world of genetic science and engineering is not only disturbing, but its perseverance is more than depressing...it's despair at its core. If you're going to watch this movie, be ready for something deeper than dogfights and conspiracy theories. This one's a real dystopic exploration into human suffering and struggle when one's most basic rights are stripped away that–though I pray never sees the light of day in our time–feels very present in the wars any "civilized" country of today is waging. The movie asks, is peace really possible without war? And more disturbingly: is war possible because of peace?

_{* It should be noted that this does not mean the children can change their physical fate and break free of this system by growing up into genetically correct adults, but rather that their current euphoric state of mind is driven by an inability to mentally mature and that by stepping beyond this they "age".}

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