avalon

THE FLICK: Now that all the hype has died down around the “Matrix Trilogy” – replaced by crushing disappointment – it’s hard to remember which came first, the Wachowski Brothers sci-fi digital revolution or the Japanese culture that inspired it. The simultaneous release of “The Animatrix” on DVD showed that the filmmakers were eager to give credit where it was due. So even though there’s no glowing endorsement on the front cover, “Avalon,” the latest in a number of “Matrix” knock-offs, should garner a little extra love. Why? Because director Mamoru Oshii was also responsible for the seminal anime “Ghost in the Shell,” which was one of many templates reinterpreted for American audiences to “ooh” and “ahhh” over. This existential action film is likely as close as one can get to translating the Japanese animation style into a live-action film: emotionally barren but undeniably visionary. In an alternate reality somewhere between Orwell and the Holocaust, gamers compete in a worldwide on-line war simulation called Avalon. Ash is a lone wolf, at the top of her game, but still mourning the loss of her teammates whose accomplishments were legendary. When information surfaces about a hidden level, Ash risks joining up with a mysterious competitor who challenges her knowledge of the game...and reality itself. Most of the premier effects occur in the opening 15 minutes where Ash tears up the WWII style virtual war games like a one-woman army. Enemy troops explode into dazzling digital fragments, walls of flame expand and freeze in two-dimensional waves of destruction (you need to see it for yourself). But “Avalon” isn’t a traditional action movie, and the film’s true nature plays out in the slow-paced, metaphysical struggle between Ash and her personal demons. It’s a live-action anime art film, full of truly memorable photography (Oshii washes everything in a dingy yellow haze) and great production design (shot in Poland, at times it looks like a WWII period piece epic). THE FEATURES: Oshii’s shadow looms much larger in Japan than the States, but Miramax was nice enough to port over a large amount of foreign language extras on DVD. “The Special Effects of Avalon” runs through every set-piece scene of practical and digital effects work in the film. Composited layers, blue-screen, battlefield explosions – it’s a how-to with Japanese subtitles than runs a full hour. “An Interview with Mamoru Oshii” pins the director down on his inspirations (early American sci-fi like “This Island Earth”) and covers his professional career as one of Japan’s leading anime figures. The film itself gets the Dolby Digital treatment, plus a widescreen transfer enhanced for 16 X 9 sets. And, man, does it look beautiful! FINAL SCORE: It’s probably not a good idea to go into “Avalon” looking for the answers missing from “Matrix: Revolutions.” But if you want more pointed questions, Oshii’s film is only too happy to deliver.