I love movies and series that have a tendency to differ itself from the typical stories that we see everywere in cinematics these days. Therefor, as I saw the trailer for this one movie I felt an enormous urge to see it. I had a picture of how it would be and was hoping for a movie that I would enjoy, however that, by the ending of the film, to be an miscalculation on my part. And why?
The story:
The story, on paper, does seem interesting at first glance. Using something that seem to be rare in the world of animated movies. A mix of a biography and supernatural story. We get to see the evolution of a girl and her view of her on life and her relationship with her father. A man that the people of Japan recognize as an exellent and talanted artist from that time of age. And as much one may like this premis, and believe me, I did, I still ended up feeling the story to be a little bit too stale, slowmoving and uncaptivating. Sure, it was interesting, but there was nothing that made me truly invested in the different happenings of the movie. Everything that went on was either kind of meh, or at best, cute. Nothing really stood out and the whole movie went on the same way, making me feel like nothing really evolved at all. Sure time went on and people appeard and disappeard, but in the end, nothing really made me feel that much. Which is sad, after all, I wanted to like the story, not only on paper but also in exacution.
The animation:
One could say that the main reason I kept on watching was because of the animation. Because if there's something that the movie does well, it's that. Colors, design and setting makes it as stunning as I imagine the Edo Era to be. With classic looking characters, with pretty simplicity and realistic beauty. Not some fantasy looking people, designed to look as cool as possible. No, everyone fitted into the world around them with harmony. The movie focuses so much on the artistic world of that time and the movies animation mirrors that very well.
The Music:
Nothing is as bland as the music. At times you have gorgeous japanese traditional music just enhancing the feeling of old time Japan, but then at the more "intense" moments you suddenly get attacked by some kind of rocky kindof music and that little immersion is blown out the window. Why not stick to traditional music is a big question one could ask. So one should know that there's really no soundtrack gem to be found in this one.
The characters:
Overall, the characters in this movie is kind of great. They are that one other thing that makes you finish the movie. However much the film can be dull, the characters still seem to have something that you want to see.They are not the most lively people in the world but their quiet nature and artistic ability actually makes them intersting. You have Miss Hokusai herself. An uncharming and kind of agrivated young woman that kind of hates her father, but at the same time helps him out with his paitings, live with him and aid him in many ways. Then we have the great painter, her father. A trashy looking old man that seems to never open his mouth, except for few moments and then it's real weird shit. He seem to have a phobia towards sick people which makes it problematic for him to form a bond to his youngest daughter that's been blind since birth and has poor health. So he leaves her with his wife and live saparted with Miss Hokusai. We have the artist-in-training Zen. A young man that left being a samurai to pursue a career as an artist, living together with the father and daughter learning from them. You have Miss Hokusais younger sister, who's bond to her sister is adorable. The man that Miss Hokusai seem to feel love for. The thing about this movie is the fact that you meet so damn many characters. However some of them, if not most of them, just appear a little while and then disappear to never be seen again.Which is sad because many of those people are the people that I, myself, liked a lot.
The way the movie tells its story, seem to be a way of telling us how artists lived and slept. How they, with or without fame, lived a simple life without extreme luxury and fame. They were a working class just like a merchant or courtesan. They had their trade and lived of it, nothing less nothing more. And looking at it from that perspective makes the movie so much more human and therefor so much more relatable. I'm not saying the movie is a bad movie, cause it really is not. It's a slowpaced story with a realistic take on life at a time when life was lived differently from now. It's something different and if you have no problem with an unepic film then you should have no problems watching this. Give it a shot and see what your opinion will be.
AFM