Product Description: Sony Pictures Tekkonkinkreet (Blu-ray) From the animation studio that brought you "Animatrix" comes this visually stunning masterpiece based on the popular Japanese manga! In Treasure Town, life can be both gentle and brutal. Black and White, two street urchins, watch over the city, doing battle with an arrayof old world Yakuza and alien assassins, all vying to rule the decaying metropolis. "Tekkonkinkreet" is a dynamic tale of brotherhood that addresses the faults of present day society, true love lost and the kindness of the human heart.
Amazon.com: Tekkonkinkreet (2006) is a landmark in the increasing cross-pollination between Japanese and American animation: Based on a manga by Taiyo Matsumoto, the film was made in Japan at Studio 4C, but directed by American Michael Arrias. The story unfolds in Treasure Town, a scabrous metropolitan slum so gritty it makes the viewer want to clean under his fingernails. Orphans White and Black share an existence at the fringes of an already marginalized subculture. White seems naive, if not learning disabled: at 11, he can't tie his shoes or dress himself. But he has an uncanny sixth sense about what's happening in Treasure Town. Older, streetwise Black looks after White and receives the emotional support he needs in return: They're two halves of a damaged whole. The arrival of a murderous yakuza boss who wants to demolish Treasure Town and build an amusement park draws Black and White into an escalating spiral of physical and emotional violence. Although the ending of Tekkonkinkreet feels needlessly obscure, it's a striking and often powerful film from a first-time director. (Rated R: violence, grotesque imagery, brief nudity, alcohol and tobacco use) --Charles Solomon
"AT TIMES LEONE, AT TIMES KITANO..." The title of this review is what a friend of mine told me after he watched this little animation masterpiece. I'm not an anime fan, but I developed a certain taste for Japanese movies while I lived in Japan, six years ago. I don't know what to say, except this: You'll enjoy this film even if you watch it with the volume down, because, visually, this is like tapestry. Every inch of the screen will give you something interesting to look at. It's like Hieronymus Bosch in LSD. Now, when it comes to the narrative, it goes from dramatic to fantastic to poetic in seconds. My friend's reference to Kitano has to do with the way this film pays homage even to yakuza movies. And then, the DVD comes with some behind-the-scenes candy. I'd really like to watch this in HD.
little that i know... even tho animated japanese movies are already great just because they are, this one seems to have all kinds of extra info that make it a great experience, even if you dont put enough atention, even if you are half asleep, even if you rather bee seen something else, in the end, from the begining this is a great film
Nice art style, terrible directing It's a little bothersome that this film receives such praise. I don't think I've ever been so disappointed with a film in my life. The art direction is gorgeous, but the direction of the story was terrible. The pacing, especially, just drove me nuts. I was excited in the beginning. I loved the characters, the environment, the blurring of dream and reality, but nothing comes from it all. The story became increasingly confused and generic. I wish the art style wouldn't have been wasted on such rubbish. Has anyone read the original manga? It just makes me so sad that such intriguing characters and such unique art were massacred by whoever directed this.
Black, where are you? Associating this unique bit of animation to "Akira" or "Ghost In The Shell" is misleading. While it is "made by" the same folk who did "The Animatrix", "Tekkon kinkreet" stands alone with it's unique subject matter and presentation. It is akin to a dream. There are elements in the film that suggest this:
1) Both Black and White can "float" (as well as the "Alien" Assassins sent to kill them). 2) Looking through White's eyes, it IS hard to delineate reality, especially near the end. 3) Some laws of physics don't seem to apply in Treasure Town.
Within all this IS a good story, however. There seems to be no "gray" area anywhere in the film. Things are very clear-cut: Good and Bad, Black and White, see where I'm going with this? The film becomes a bit surreal at times, but there is never a point at which you might say "what's happening?" The separation of Black and White also becomes representative of what happens when those two "colors" are removed from the rainbow.
This film is quite good. It is not made in the fashion of American "beat-you-in-the-head-till-you're-numb" sort of fare. It's a film to sit back and relax with. It IS "R" rated, which precludes certain members of the family from seeing it, but it is not a children's film, anyway (as one may be swayed into thinking, because of it's style of animation).
The DVD has the ubiquitous extras, a making of feature, conversations with the Director and the band that contributed some music for the film, and last but not least, film commentary.
The Anime Film For People Who Hate Anime My first encounter with the movie was when the cover art grabbed my attention at Wal-mart one day. I picked it up thinking it would be a great flick to watch with my younger nephews, then I noticed it was rated R and put it back on the shelf and forgot about it.
Later, a friend told me I should check out this anime called Tekkokinkreet. So I take it and it sits on my TV for about a week. I don't like anime, More specifically I don't like the cliche dialogue about robots or pre-teens punks having and identity crisis when they realize they can shoot fireballs.
Then I saw this film and it absolutely not that. The story is a coming of age tale but much more existential and meaningful than you would expect from an animated film. The story weaves a character's internal conflict very well into the external. This makes it much more fluid and enjoyable to follow.
To top it off, the animation is rich and most of the shots are directed very well, much like an actual camera crew was shooting it.
A must see for anyone who thought they might like anime if it wasn't so cheesy.
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
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