Anime Vérité

Posted on November 11, 2009 
Filed Under Film

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Revivals are part of our cultural tapestry. It’s common and even respected for today’s crop of artists to look to the past for inspiration or to pay well-deserved homage to our imaginative forebearers. Fine art, design, fashion, architecture, music, theater and especially film reap the benefits of the cyclical nature of fads and genre, made modern through visionary hands and cutting-edge technology. Planet of the Apes, notwithstanding.

Animation has long been one of the most time-honored forms of filmmaking. From the earliest of line-drawn shorts to the proliferation of world-class studios like Disney and Pixar, animated storytelling has propelled audiences into the surreal kaleidoscope of our imaginations. And as we continue to realize new styles and reinvent the old, our animated fantasies are surprisingly appearing more and more real.

Today kicks off San Francisco’s 4th Annual International Animation Festival, a 5-day showcase of the newest offerings in both commercial and independent animation at Landmark’s Embarcadero Center Cinema. Opening the festival this year is the long-awaited adaptation of the Roald Dahl classic Fantastic Mr. Fox [above]. Director Wes Anderson brings together the voice talents of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Willem Dafoe and Anderson-regulars Owen Wilson and Bill Murray in an impassioned play to rekindle our childhood memories.

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The festival spotlight seems to shine brightest, however, on the contributions from abroad. Mamoru Oshii, whose credits include Ghost in the Shell and scripting Blood: The Last Vampire, brings Japan Edo period to life with Musashi: The Dream of the Last Samurai, the story of the origins of the Niten Ichi-ryu, a legendary form of Japanese sword-fighting.

My pick is Sweden’s Metropia, a haunting vision of a future rife with corporate domination and self-induced paranoia. The hyper-realistic animation, steadily becoming the favored style choice among Hollywood animators, is only part of the draw here. Director Tarik Saleh weaves a socially conscious story of a carefully-controlled society in a world running dangerously low on oil. Just keep telling yourself, it’s only a movie.

—Michael

Check the San Francisco International Animation Festival homepage for a schedule of events and showtimes. Festival screenings at Landmark’s Embarcadero Center Cinema.

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