Ever since I heard that The Sky Crawlers would be released in local cinemas, I’ve been looking forward to watching it. I finally did so, and I felt that it was totally worth the 2 hours of my time.
The setting’s European-like, and the plot revolves around the Kildren, genetically engineered humanoids existing for the purpose of fueling the never-ending war between 2 companies, Rostock and Lautern. The battles resulting from the warfare serve as entertainment for the normal people living in peace. Kannami Yuuichi, the main character, is one of the Kildren who flies and fights aerial warfare. The movie begins with him being transferred to a new base, him meeting and interacting with his new workmates such as his superior, Kusunagi Suito, and eventually expanding onward to Kannami as a pilot in the war. I shall stop here for the movie’s plot summary since it’s not like me to do summaries for reviews.
Plot
The plot might appear straightforward on the surface, but if you try looking beneath it, you might just find yourself surrounded by question marks. Quite a number of questions were left unanswered, even as the film ended. The ending was rather open, leaving much of what’s left of the story up to the audience.
Besides that, I felt that the movie had some pacing problems. At times, the movie felt like it was moving too slow. Maybe 2 hours was a little too long for it. Still, I shall reserve any comments as I’ve yet to read to original work and thus, have not the slightest idea of how much material they have to cramp into a single film.
An extra note: Almost everyone in the film smokes. Is this a hint of a scheme to promote smoking?
Themes
A thing which I really liked were the themes present in the film. Or at least I perceived them to be present.
One of the themes highlighted would be the blood lust of humans. Humans have an endless thirst for conflicts and wars, a thirst that can never be quenched nor suppressed. Kusunagi rambled on and on about their war being something which existed just so that there can be peace in the real world. The real world being the world and its people that are being entertained by the war. When she said that, I could feel myself almost nodding in agreement. This explains why humans are unable to live in total peace. Whenever there’s peace, we’ll just create more conflict to fuel our desire for it. A part of me wonders if our true desire’s for peace, or conflict.
Another theme which I liked was the borderline between a child and an adult. While Kannami and Kusunagi are considered to be children, I perceived them as adults instead. After all, their thoughts were far beyond what any child would process.
What differentiates one from the other? Is it the age? Is it the physical form? Is it the mentality and mindset? Or must it definitely be a combination of all 3? I’ve always wondered when one’s considered an adult? 18? 21? Or is the age different for every individual? What does it mean to be an adult?
The final theme which had quite an impact on me appeared in the scene which had a group of adults touring the airbase. They expressed that they were huge fans of the pilots, and will definitely continue supporting them. All Kannami could do was give politically correct answers and smile in a way that left the audience cackling away while they recorded him on their video cameras. Now, that has got to be a sick, twisted joke. Deriving enjoyment and entertainment from deaths at its best.
Animation and Design
While most of the scenes on the ground were rather unimpressive, I really enjoyed it whenever the movie took to the skies. All the scenes with planes were beautifully rendered in 3D, and the dogfights were gripping. It’s remarkable how the sky could be so beautiful. The aerial scenes alone justified the ticket and time.
I felt that the character designs were a little too plain. Since it’s a Production I.G. production, I was expecting something more fancy along the lines of Ghost in the Shell and such. However, the plainness wasn’t as bad as I thought, since the setting does go well with it. My only real complaint would be the eyes. Kusunagi’s freaked me out a couple of times.
There’s nothing much to say about the planes except one word; Brilliant.
Music
The movie plays a lot on silence, which complements the vibes it should emit. Maybe it’s because the setting is in European and there’s a lot of space in most of the scenes. Seldom will you see clutters, and that’s precisely the reason why I felt the silence worked well for me. Other than the silence, the BGM was fine, though not particularly a jaw-dropper.
Voice Acting
The Japanese voice acting was decent, with the voices somewhat complementing how the characters are supposed to be portrayed. However, it was the English voice acting that I’m all praises for. While the characters were in flight, they communicated in English instead of Japanese. Even so, the seiyuus spoke in both languages. Initially, I thought I was in for some really entertaining Engrish, but man, I was so wrong. The English can be easily the best job I’ve seen done by Japanese seiyuus. Impressive.
In an overview, I thoroughly enjoyed The Sky Crawlers, and would definitely encourage anyone who’s game for some visual candy and lots of philosophical intelligent thought processing. It’s perfectly alright even if you just watch it for the eye candy, since I’m sure much of the audience got lost in some corners of the film. Well, I did.
Oh… I love Sky Smokers ^^
I kind of enjoyed the slowness & my favourite scene was when the pilots were playing on the rides ^^
I got lost in the movie too.
And miss the epilogue after the credits..
The 3D graphics: perfecto.
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But the storyline’s kinda boring, IMO.
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Just my 2 cents.
The original work spans 5 novels, not sure of the length of each though.
Also, yeah, the thing about the movie is that it raises the point that humanity will never stop fighting because at our core, we do indeed possess the desire for conflict (be it by pride, power or plain whimsy)
YuKi-To > Sky Smokers?
zrayon > I missed the epilogue too. Damn!
Disc-Co > I thought the story was rather captivating. It kept me thinking for quite a bit.
C.I. > If I’m not wrong, the novels are separate from each other, meaning there’s no link between them or chronological order to read them in.
Impressive movie I’d must say. I’d like to watch it again and give a slap to those who I actually saw snoring away.
I must say i really enjoyed the movie, had a lot of good laughs. The scenes in the sky were definitely impressive. I clearly remembered the entire theater laughing out loud at the part where the pilots were playing on the rides.
For those who missed the epilogue:
(an unspecified number of days after Yuuichi’s final sortie)
A Sanka fighter arrives in Alice Base. Chief mechanic Sasakura walks out from the hanger, looking haggard and melancholic as usual, to greet the new pilot as he steps out of the plane. He doesn’t remove his goggles, but lights a cigarette and throws the matchstick away after snapping it.
Moments later, he reports to Kusanagi at her office, and identifies himself as Hiiragi Samu. Kusanagi looks up and replies firmly with a slight smile: “I’m Kusanagi. I’ve been waiting for you.”
~~~~
Read into the above what you want.
Personally, I think it’s a great ending that provides much-needed closure to the story. If nothing else, it strongly implies a happy ending for Kusanagi.
RE: Themes
You’ve suggested a few interesting themes. Personally, after my second viewing (in the end, I watched the movie thrice at the cinema), I realised that the plot is actually meant to be more of a sci-fi mystery thriller than a war/love story. Which shouldn’t be surprising, given that it’s adapted from a novel whose author is best-known for writing mysteries.
Despite being told from Yuuichi’s perspective, the story actually revolves entirely around Suito Kusanagi. Who was Kurita Jinroh? What happened to him? How was he related to Suito?
The movie can be divided into roughly six or seven acts. In each part, we get closer to the root of the mystery, until we learn the truth about the Kildren, and see how that knowledge of eternal adolescence affects each major character.
Tokino, for example, is clearly aware of his fate, but chooses to be cavalier about it and live it up instead as a playboy. Mitsuya has also cottoned on to the truth, but refuses to believe that she is Kildren. Yuuichi was stunned by the revelation (as can be seen from his reaction to Yudachi’s replacement towards the end of the fim). But he copes with it the way most other Kildren do - by suppressing it until each day becomes a foggy blur.
Among them all, though, Suito is completely unique - no other Kildren has lived as long as she has. And no other Kildren has firsthand knowledge of the dreaded Teacher, the most likely father of her child.
So, in Suito, all hope for the Kildren’s future resides. In having given birth to her own child, Suito is more aware of her mortality than any other Kildren alive. When she watches Mizuki grow up, it’s with a mixture of joy (watch her face closely when she first talks to Yuuichi about Mizuki - she’s smiling, a genuine smile, very unlike her usual cynical smirk) and pained regret.
Because, you see, Suito was progressively falling apart throughout the film. It’s strongly hinted that she was spiralling deeper into what she felt was an inescapable depression. Kurita Jinroh’s coming and going was the straw that finally broke her back, and by the time we see her in The Sky Crawlers, she was already verging on suicide.
In Mizuki, she sees the person she can never become. Hence her rage at the monstrous system that created her - an impotent anger because she knows she is unable to change her fate.
Or, rather, she thinks she knows. By the end of the film, Yuuichi becomes the first person to break her out of the vicious circle.
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.
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Well, all that comprises my interpretation of The Sky Crawlers. It’s by far the most accessible Oshii movie to date, which is in itself an achievement. Then, there’s the 3D animation and stunning dogfighting action. And the gorgeously designed planes.
But, in the end, Oshii is still Oshii. Newcomers to his body of work, including The Sky Crawlers, are bound to be stupifyingly bored by his plodding style of storytelling. I know I was as well, at least during my first viewing.
After all, Oshii movies tend to target the mind more than the heart. This has always been his biggest flaw as a filmmmaker, and it stays largely the same in The Sky Crawlers. Oshii, to put it mildly, is an intellectual snob who never deigns to make a mainstream movie.
But then, perversely enough, that’s also the reason why I like his oeuvre. ^^;
By the way, Suito Kusanagi has loved only one man her whole life.
It shouldn’t take long for an attentive viewer to catch what I’m hinting at.
Where is it showing? Cathay?
It was showing at GV VivoCity, GV Plaza and at another GV cinema I forget. The operative word being “was” - it’s no longer screening.
tinyRedLeaf > Thanks for the comment regarding the themes in the film. I find that in such a film, an individual is unable to see and understand everything by oneself. Hence, to fully understand what’s going on and intended for the audience, a post-viewing discussion is more than suitable.
Since its release, I’ve been looking for a cam-rip of this film. It has already 4 months since then. At least the dvd is coming out in Feb. -_-