June DVDs
The Sky Crawlers
Two excellent Japanese films are released on DVD this month, one the latest animé by the great Mamoru Oshii, the other a fresh and subtle tale looking at a relationship between two young women.
Title: The Sky Crawlers
Format: DVD
Release date: 31 May 2010
Distributor: Manga Entertainment
Director: Mamoru Oshii
Writer: Chihiro Itou
Based on the novel by: Hiroshi Mori
Original title: Sukai kurora
Japan 2008
122 mins
Title: Kakera – A Piece of Our Lives
Format: DVD
Release date: 21 June 2010
Distributor: Third Window Films
Director: Momoko Ando
Based on the manga by: Erica Sakurazawa
Cast: Hikari Mitsushima, Eriko Nakamura
Japan 2008
107 mins
The Sky Crawlers
A glorious return to form for director Mamoru Oshii, The Sky Crawlers is a languid tale of young fighter pilots in a near future that evokes both real world conflicts, such as the 1940s War in the Pacific, and fictional ones, such as the perpetual warfare in George Orwell’s 1984. The Sky Crawlers is a dreamy, beautiful film that gently weaves its way around the lives of various young fighter pilots as they learn their skills, romance local girls, clash with authority and take part in graceful, exhilarating dogfights with the enemy. The general look of the film is inspired by the 40s and 50s but with a hard SF twist that adds additional poignancy to the notion of the brief lives of the (handsome) young when pressed into military service.
Alex Fitch
Kakera – A Piece of Our Lives
Kakera – A Piece of Our Lives does what its title suggests. Kakera presents a slice of life. No grand narrative; no neatly conceived conclusions; just a segment of a relationship between two women, Haru and Riko, as they define their feelings for each other. Shooting with a microscopic attention to detail, first-time director Momoko Ando creates a thoroughly compelling world – beautiful, surreal, romantic and personal – aided by an excellent soundtrack and strong visual sense.
Eleanor McKeown
