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Ghost In The Shell 2: Innocence
Cf. PA#83: 57-58.
Go Fish Pictures, Cat.#91757, Bilingual, 99 min., $29.98 US, rated PG-13 (Violence, Disturbing Images, Brief Language). For more information on this title see the Anime News Network's Encyclopedia.
Innocence © 2004 Shirow Masamune / Kodansha • IG • ITNDDTD. |
The story takes place in the year 2032 -- three years after Major Motoko Kusanagi's disappearance. The main character this time is the major's former partner, Batou, a middle-aged cyborg who rarely smiles. Although this story offers you some action scenes here and there, the entire film's atmosphere is really set by Director Oshii's personal, dark psychological style. It offers a very introspective subject, questionning the nature of love, the meaning of life, and the distinction between man and machine. Can a human be human without his mortal shell? Can a machine have a ghost or soul? The unusual convergence in style of Umberto Eco, Philip K. Dick and William Gibson. Above all it offers very beautiful scenery (an exotic looking futuristic Asia) made possible by superb computer animation. You may like it, or maybe not, but it really doesn't matter. It is a visual masterpiece that should be experienced by everyone! [MM/CJP]
