Presto (Doug Sweetland, 2008)
This five-minute short which plays before WALL·E is just about perfect. That's all I'll say, except that I'm probably underrating it.
WALL·E (Andrew Stanton, 2008)
Since there have been so many WALL·E reviews around the site, I'm not sure that there are reasons for me to recount the plot, so I'll be brief. I'm pretty sure that most people realize that it takes place in the year 2815 and begins on Earth where the only things which seem to be "alive" are a small robot who tries to clean up the trash and an especially-resilient cockroach-type creature. All the humans left the planet 700 years earlier on a huge spaceship which was designed by the mega corporation/world government called Buy and Large, with the intention of only being away for about five years. There were apparently millions of WALL·Es left behind, but now there seems to be one, and shortly after the film begins, he finds green plant life growing in the soil.
Soon a spaceship appears and leaves a probe behind to search for signs of life. This probe is called EVE, and it is like nothing WALL·E has ever seen before. In fact, although WALL·E (ostensibly playing a male) is frightened by EVE's seemingly violent nature and firepower, he finds himself attracted to her as a companion along the lines of the ones he sees in the film version of Hello, Dolly! which he watches repeatedly. Eventually, both machines find themselves on the huge spaceship where the descendents of the humans who left 700 years earlier live blissfully unaware of their history or potential. OK, that wasn't as brief as I intended.
I thoroughly enjoyed the film. It creates a barren, grimy Earth, a beautifully inviting Solar System and a unique vision of human life on a spaceship far in the future. It succeeds on all levels of storytelling for me. I especially loved the homages to 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Thomas Newman's magical musical score is one of the two best I've heard this year, along with Carter Burwell's terrific In Bruges score. I'm also happy about who they used as the voice of the ship's computer. I can believe that some people may find it to be a kiddie movie, but I think it's far too romantic and thought-provoking to relegate it to that realm. I also didn't find myself being swamped by the film's message of conservation vs. consumerism as many others have. I thought the film's overriding message was one of humanity, and if it takes some non-human "creatures" to help us rediscover our lost humanity, that's OK with me. I don't find WALL·E to be a political film along the lines of Persepolis; that's for sure.
Persepolis (Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Paronnaud, 2007)
This captivating French animation wonder, based on Satrapi's semi-autobiographical graphic novels, is a sharp combination of Iranian history, political awareness, a coming-of-age story, love of family, and some intriguing animation techniques. It tells the story, in flashbacks, of Marjane's life in Iran under both the Shah and the fundamentalist "Islamic Republic" and during the Iraq-Iran War, as well as her times spent in Europe where she always felt to be a fish out of water. Whether you're aware of Iran's history during the last 80 or so years or not, this is a fascinating perspective, but it's much more alive and humorous than any history lesson could be.
One thing which is totally unique, at least to me, about Persepolis is that it's a mostly 2-D animated piece of art which is heavily inspired by film noir. Most of the film is in black and white, with major use of shadows. Although it is full of funny moments concerning family and growing up, there is a threat of danger and violence during each step the film takes. The film also uses a surrealistic approach occasionally, especially during scenes involving drugs and the Kafkaesque nightmare in which women and non-fundamentalists find themselves in the Iran of the later 20th century.
Before I make the film sound too much of a downer, I need to add that I laughed out loud several times. Many of these involved Marjane's unlucky attempts to find a boyfriend. Her grandmother is also a foul-mouthed lady who teaches her about integrity, but she and Marjane both swear quite a bit, and it actually is very funny to hear them say things you couldn't really imagine. (Don't get too worried though; sure, it's an adult-themed film, but it's only rated PG-13.) There are also many touching moments involving Marjane's family, often because the family has always been Marxist and therefore, they've always had family members in jail or killed. Not that you need me to explain this, but in general, everyone, regardless of their politics or religion, is a human being. It's just that sometimes people act much more inhuman than they realize. This film shows things in a realistic light in my mind, and so it's nice to remember that people throughout the world share more similarities than they do differences. Oh yeah, did I mention that the animation techniques and the music are groovy? I especially liked Marjane's crazy interpretation of "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor.
This five-minute short which plays before WALL·E is just about perfect. That's all I'll say, except that I'm probably underrating it.
WALL·E (Andrew Stanton, 2008)
Since there have been so many WALL·E reviews around the site, I'm not sure that there are reasons for me to recount the plot, so I'll be brief. I'm pretty sure that most people realize that it takes place in the year 2815 and begins on Earth where the only things which seem to be "alive" are a small robot who tries to clean up the trash and an especially-resilient cockroach-type creature. All the humans left the planet 700 years earlier on a huge spaceship which was designed by the mega corporation/world government called Buy and Large, with the intention of only being away for about five years. There were apparently millions of WALL·Es left behind, but now there seems to be one, and shortly after the film begins, he finds green plant life growing in the soil.
Soon a spaceship appears and leaves a probe behind to search for signs of life. This probe is called EVE, and it is like nothing WALL·E has ever seen before. In fact, although WALL·E (ostensibly playing a male) is frightened by EVE's seemingly violent nature and firepower, he finds himself attracted to her as a companion along the lines of the ones he sees in the film version of Hello, Dolly! which he watches repeatedly. Eventually, both machines find themselves on the huge spaceship where the descendents of the humans who left 700 years earlier live blissfully unaware of their history or potential. OK, that wasn't as brief as I intended.
I thoroughly enjoyed the film. It creates a barren, grimy Earth, a beautifully inviting Solar System and a unique vision of human life on a spaceship far in the future. It succeeds on all levels of storytelling for me. I especially loved the homages to 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Thomas Newman's magical musical score is one of the two best I've heard this year, along with Carter Burwell's terrific In Bruges score. I'm also happy about who they used as the voice of the ship's computer. I can believe that some people may find it to be a kiddie movie, but I think it's far too romantic and thought-provoking to relegate it to that realm. I also didn't find myself being swamped by the film's message of conservation vs. consumerism as many others have. I thought the film's overriding message was one of humanity, and if it takes some non-human "creatures" to help us rediscover our lost humanity, that's OK with me. I don't find WALL·E to be a political film along the lines of Persepolis; that's for sure.
Persepolis (Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Paronnaud, 2007)
This captivating French animation wonder, based on Satrapi's semi-autobiographical graphic novels, is a sharp combination of Iranian history, political awareness, a coming-of-age story, love of family, and some intriguing animation techniques. It tells the story, in flashbacks, of Marjane's life in Iran under both the Shah and the fundamentalist "Islamic Republic" and during the Iraq-Iran War, as well as her times spent in Europe where she always felt to be a fish out of water. Whether you're aware of Iran's history during the last 80 or so years or not, this is a fascinating perspective, but it's much more alive and humorous than any history lesson could be.
One thing which is totally unique, at least to me, about Persepolis is that it's a mostly 2-D animated piece of art which is heavily inspired by film noir. Most of the film is in black and white, with major use of shadows. Although it is full of funny moments concerning family and growing up, there is a threat of danger and violence during each step the film takes. The film also uses a surrealistic approach occasionally, especially during scenes involving drugs and the Kafkaesque nightmare in which women and non-fundamentalists find themselves in the Iran of the later 20th century.
Before I make the film sound too much of a downer, I need to add that I laughed out loud several times. Many of these involved Marjane's unlucky attempts to find a boyfriend. Her grandmother is also a foul-mouthed lady who teaches her about integrity, but she and Marjane both swear quite a bit, and it actually is very funny to hear them say things you couldn't really imagine. (Don't get too worried though; sure, it's an adult-themed film, but it's only rated PG-13.) There are also many touching moments involving Marjane's family, often because the family has always been Marxist and therefore, they've always had family members in jail or killed. Not that you need me to explain this, but in general, everyone, regardless of their politics or religion, is a human being. It's just that sometimes people act much more inhuman than they realize. This film shows things in a realistic light in my mind, and so it's nice to remember that people throughout the world share more similarities than they do differences. Oh yeah, did I mention that the animation techniques and the music are groovy? I especially liked Marjane's crazy interpretation of "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor.
__________________
It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page
It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page
Last edited by mark f; 07-19-08 at 05:02 PM.