The Place Promised in Our Early Days
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DVD Cover Information Actor: Hidetaka Yoshioka, Kazuhiko Inoue, Masato Hagiwara, Unshô Ishizuka, Yuka Nanri Director: Makoto Shinkai Editor: Makoto Shinkai Producer: Makoto Shinkai Writer: Makoto Shinkai Producer: John Ledford Producer: Mark Williams DVD: Region Code 1 Audio: English (Original Language); Japanese (Original Language) Format: Animated, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC Picture Format: 1.78:1 Running Time: 91 minutes DVD Release Date: 2005-07-12 Audience Rating: Unrated Studio: Adv Films |
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Movie Reviews of The Place Promised in Our Early Days
Movie Review: The Place Promised in Our Early Days
Summary: 2 Stars
Last year, I took "CTCS403: East Asian Cinema" at USC with Professor David James. Before showing us a film that might be considered unpalatable to our Western tastes, he'd preface by saying "you're either going to like this film and have good taste, or you're not going to like it and have bad taste."
Since taking that course, I struggle valiantly to appreciate (or even just comprehend) critically-acclaimed films that are not immediately accessible. Since this film trumped both Otomo's Steamboy and Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle for the honor of Best Animated Film at the prestigious Mainichi Film Awards, I was determined to glean the deeper meaning no matter what.
Other matters aside, you have to give The Place Promised in Our Early Days points for an interesting setting:
In an alternate history of the aftermath of World War II, Japan has been cleaved in half, with the south-Honshu and the other islands-allied with the United States and the northern island Hokkaido annexed by the enigmatic Union. It was on Hokkaido that a mysterious tower had been built, a strand of metal reaching up out of the atmosphere, visible from the northern tip of Honshu. In 1996, three teenagers, Hiroki, Takuya and Sayuri, make a pact-they will build an experimental aircraft, almost invisible to surveillance, cross over to Hokkaido and unlock the secrets of the tower. Their dream was never realized, because Sayuri was sent to Tokyo for treatment after she fell into a coma. It is now three years later. The rosy illusions of youth have fallen away, but not the unbreakable strength of the trio's promise. The truth of the tower will be uncovered, and with it, the link between it and Sayuri's mysterious, carefully tended condition.
Sadly, things fall apart in terms of cohesion almost immediately. For one thing, all of the characters are basically blanks in the personality department, making them all blend together. I can see how Shinkai is trying to make his tale seem more universal, but the technique just ends up distancing the viewer from onscreen events. That's not to say that these events are remotely approaching understandable, by the way. In regards to of any form of a plot, I can remember some half-baked metaphysical musings on parallel universes juxtaposed with some junior-high recollections. That's really about it.
BOTTOM LINE: There wasn't a single moment that my attention was engaged while watching, and to me that isn't a sign of quality. Accuse me of "bad" taste if you must.