There are some Japanese animated films, whose aesthetic style and connotation are often far beyond the animation films of the same era, but they are usually popular among the fan community and less well known to the general audience. This is mainly because of the niche in the theme: their themes are usually not the evergreen plots of love, friendship, and growth, but often contain the "mental structure" unique to Japanese literary and artistic works, usually under the shell of science fiction, which means awkward inner contradictions.
Moreover, these animations have a great element of showmanship, they are extremely gorgeous, but unlike the popular accident clothes like Pixar American animation, they are not acceptable to everyone.
Oshii's Ghost in the Shell series is undoubtedly a representative of this. In addition to him, famous supervisors such as Imatoshi and Katsuyo Otomo often have works that make fans shout surprises.
In the previous article, "Soul in the Shell", we talked about the philosophical thinking about the soul and the body in the Ghost in the Shell. Released in 1995, the film's bold and forward-thinking ideas can almost be seen as a cultural benchmark, influencing countless subsequent works. The film's sequel, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, was released in 2004 and was also directed by Mori Oshii. The span of ten years has not made the continuation into a cold meal, but has become a new peak.
"Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence" Douban score is as high as 9.1, even higher than the first part. Another of its special honors was its participation in the main competition section of the 57th Cannes Film Festival, although it did not win the final prize, but it was a unique presence in animated films at the time, and it also reflected the recognition of mainstream film circles.
The strength of this animated film is multi-layered, and the easiest conclusion to draw is the visual amazement: the most gorgeous and extravagant thing is a real "burning money" move.
In terms of scenes, in "Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence", there are a large number of 2D and 3D combined scene presentations, even if evaluated by today's standards, it is almost flawless, and this combination provides a fantastic aesthetic style for the film to show future cities, buildings, markets and other large scenes, which can be called visual enjoyment -
Such a picture is not to say 2004, even from the current point of view of 2019, there are few ordinary theatrical animations that can achieve this level: gorgeous, beautiful and eerie, creating a unique aesthetic standard.
In terms of shape, it has formed a strange beauty. It is not difficult for us to feel the existence of the "uncanny valley effect" from the doll robot, and the visual impact created by this design is huge, and the shape rooted in the Culture of Toei is even more unforgettable. I believe that we will all admit to feeling a little fearful of such a picture, and the origin of this fearful idea has become a supplement to the philosophical thinking of spirit and flesh in the connotation of the film itself:
To put it more radically, perhaps even Netflix's recent hit "Love, Death, Robots" may not be able to surpass "Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence" in terms of visual aesthetics.
One reason why Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence is so highly accomplished is that this pursuit is not simply a showmanship, but an effect that uses "atmosphere" to enhance the narrative and theme. These cold doll robots, large and deserted future cities, and the oriental style of the street market as a whole are so strong that people are deeply immersed in it, and in this world of extremely clear style, we can also appreciate the fit between the story and the picture.
From a plot point of view, "Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence" is more willful than the previous game, and almost completely does not consider the mood of the audience outside the threshold. Oshii Mori tirelessly repeats the quotes of famous works, and adds a circular scene of the labyrinth of thought in the second half of the film, forming this kind of nightmare-like experience.
In Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, the doll robot injury incident is the engine of the plot. Doll robots are injected into the human mind, and the human body is constantly transformed and replaced by machines or even replaced by full machine existence - so is there no difference between a human being whose body is completely mechanized and a robot with a human mind?
The Ghost in the Shell series has always explored the intertwining of technology, society, and philosophy. In the two film versions, the color of philosophical speculation is the strongest, which also makes the film put on a difficult coat.
In 2017, Hollywood remade "Ghost in the Shell", starring Scarlett, and finally ushered in a bad review. In order to gain the acceptance of most audiences, this film abandons the too difficult philosophical discussions in the original work, but simplifies the story of a young girl's memory loss and recovery history, defeats the boss behind the scenes, and becomes a cheesy road cargo.
But we have to admit that animated films like Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, which cost a lot of money and are so "willful" in the finished product, may never appear again.
It is not difficult to find that in recent Japanese animation movies, the original story of the youth campus has become the mainstream, the serial IP theater version has become a cash cow, and there are few serious works with science fiction themes.
I don't think "Your Name." "" and those Naruto and Pirate theatrical versions have no meaning, on the contrary, I am a loyal fan myself.
But it is regrettable that under the market economy that tends to cater to the tastes of the audience, do directors who have amazing ideas in their heads have such a tolerant environment for them to make history?