Origin: Spirits of the Past is a film by anime studio Gonzo – their first theatrical feature production, originally released in 2006. The film takes place in a dystopian future where forestation has reclaimed much of the Earth after genetic modification resulted in sentient trees. The basic premise is quite an interesting one – if a little silly-sounding when you try to explain it to someone – and is introduced in a fairly spectacular opening credits sequence. In the wake of the destruction caused by the trees’ onslaught, it seems that mankind split into two factions: those who attempt to co-exist with the trees and those who plan to reclaim the planet by force; in the film these factions are represented by the peaceful Neutral City and the militaristic Ragna. Needless to say tensions between humans and the forest are high, and are heightened when another set of interests becomes involved.
The film starts strong with an intriguing premise, stunning visuals and fairly likeable characters. Agito and his friend Cain, from Neutral City, sneak to the bottom of a well to gather some water for the town. Problem is, the druids – trees in a more human-like form – don’t seem to like it when humans take more water than they’re supposed to, and when the boys are caught Agito manages to make a quick escape into the caves leading from the well. In the tunnels he discovers a girl – Toola – sleeping inside some sort of pod, and takes her back to Neutral City after a daring escape from the caves. It turns out that Toola lived before the trees took over, and was just one of many people sleeping in stasis pods in the hope of waking to a better world. Agito and Toola quickly form a bond, but trouble strikes when Shunack – another survivor of the old world working with Ragna – arrives and convinces Toola that she must help him finish her father’s work to “fix” the world.
Unfortunately, Origin seems to plateau around this point. Agito become single-mindedly focussed on getting Toola back and spends most of the remainder of the film shouting her name, and I couldn’t help but feel that his behaviour indicated a deeper emotional connection between the two than had actually been established. Of course he’s going to want to save her, but his zeal felt just a bit too strong. At around 90 minutes in length Origin is hardly short, but it feels like it’s missing an extra ten or twenty minutes in the first act that should have developed the relationship. Beyond Agito, it feels at times as if no character development at all takes place throughout most of the conflict and support characters like Cain and the other residents of Neutral City are all but ignored. This is not to say that the film becomes boring or unenjoyable – there’s plenty of action and the animation remains impressive throughout – but it fails to engage emotionally despite a relatively well-characterised opening.
Though Origin is lacking in narrative impact, it does boast gorgeous visuals. In addition to some memorable design – the various incarnations of the trees are fantastic, and the regular image of a fractured moon in the sky is especially striking – the film benefits immensely from a solid high definition transfer on blu-ray, with incredible detail, texture and clarity. Backgrounds are beautifully detailed, animation is smooth and lines are clean and very well-defined. One of the less talked about ways in which blu-ray is superior to DVD is in its broader colour presentation, and Origin is full of vibrant and at times eye-popping colour. 3D CGI is used fairly regularly in the film, to varied effect. Much of it is well integrated into the traditional artwork, but mechanical elements such as vehicles suffer slightly from a more jarring contrast. This is, thankfully, only a minor issue that won’t detract from the otherwise amazing animation on offer, and depending on your personal tastes may not be an issue at all. This is a beautiful film, and if you’re able to watch it on blu-ray you won’t be disappointed.
Origin is an enjoyable film that is visually impressive, but narratively a little underwhelming. I suppose what makes it disappointing is that the opening is so promising; with just a slightly longer runtime and more consistent characterisation, Origin could have been a more complete and memorable experience. While Origin fails to live up to its potential, it must be said that the potential is there. The result is an entertaining story that, while lacking emotional impact, is far from short on visual impact. Adjust your expectations accordingly and this is a worthwhile way to spend an hour and a half.
No comments:
Post a Comment