Power Poster
Posts: 376
Location: Texas
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ok, heres a copy and paste of some describtions of the movie:
Quote: | Fashion photographer and music video director Kiriya Kazuaki's long awaited first film, set in a stunning retro-futuristic world, is a visual and philosophical tour de force.
An updated version of an animated television series from Tatsunoko Pro made in the early 1970s, Casshern is a classic tale of good vs. evil. The film is set in the future, where the planet Earth has been divided between two opposing alliances. After a long and bitter war, the Greater Eastern Federation has triumphed over Europa and rules the Eurasian continent. However, the victory is a hollow one. The war has left the planet a wasteland, ravaged by chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons, and its inhabitants are weak and susceptible to every pestilence and new disease that appears.
With hope running out for the survival of the human race, a geneticist named Dr. Azuma proposes a neo-cell treatment through which he can rejuvenate the human body, and potentially save mankind. The success of his research is critical to him on a personal level as well, as his disease stricken wife Midori is growing weaker each day.
One day, a freak bolt of lightning sends Azuma's neo-cell cloning experiment haywire, and an army of superhuman androids (Shinzo Ningen) are unleashed on the world. The military attacks and kills most of them, but some survive, taking Midori hostage and employing a robot army to wage war on the humans in an effort to wipe them off the face of the earth. As options run out, Tetsuya, Azuma's son who has been killed in fighting, is reborn through his father's neo-cell technology as the hero Casshern. Will he be able to save the world, or is it too late?
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With that addictive trailer all over the net, Casshern has built up anticipation as the live action reinterpretation of the goofy jumpsuit showcasing 70’s anime Casshan. The trailer leads on the idea of a slow build up to an epic struggle between good and evil, fully encased in stylish black and white swordfights and dazzling special effects.
Throughout the film our eyes are overflowed with the awe inspiring beauty that jumps off the screen; whilst instead of remaining clearly black and white, the good vs. evil approach is more in the gray area with the exploration of countless key themes and the characters preaching their views instead of just beating each other to a pulp. The substance comes as a blessing, but not without any negative consequences as it drives away from the cheesy source material and reduces the pure entertainment.
This adaptation updates the original anime a great deal for the introduction of unique ideas and completely new themes to correlate with current events and future problems. In a future world, a costly but victorious war (against Europe) for the Greater Asian empire leads to pollution, terrorist threats, and totalitarianism. Dr. Azuma (Akira Terao) plays a scientist in the pursuit of curing his ill wife, pushing the advancement of his Neocell research, which allows any parts of the body to be rejuvenated or reconstructed. Lightning unexpectedly strikes creating a group of mutants who are threatened by the uncompassionate government and are forced to retreat to a base where they construct thousands of advanced robots. Dr. Azuma’s son Tetsuya (Yusuke Iseya), reconstructed with a strong robotic body is forced to battle the mutants and return peace to the world.
The strong departure from the anime significantly alters the whole point of the story. Kazuaki Kiriya instead, squeezes as many themes and messages as he can, providing commentary on global issues and even philosophy, including but not limited to, war, terrorism, existence, humanity, pollution, government, and naturally, love. In the anime, we dealt with robots being created to preserve human life, when they realize its best to just remove them from the equation. With the reinterpretation, a deeper look is taken as mutants take the front stage in a war that causes both sides to reexamine and doubt themselves. What results is a love-hate deal where the viewer can either relish in the substantial update of Casshan, or complain and wish it were a mindless action flick. Still, for the amount of material Kiriya managed to illustrate, it’s remarkable how smoothly the film builds up to a kinetic rock-infused explosion of robotic limbs and reaches a level of action-packed bliss.
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and some screen shots:
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