Avalon (2001)

I've passed this one over too many times. It always hooks me, but I'm too impatient. Now I have to get it for keeps.

This is a unique gem. I'm concerned, as others have already suggested, that the people who were involved in this movie will not be recognized for what they have done. This is such special magic.

What made me come back and take another look at this was a chance viewing of another often-misunderstood gem, "Vampyr" (1932). I see many similarities: the slow pacing, the sullen and underplayed characters, the unusual lighting and camera-work, the haunting, creepy feeling one is left with for *weeks* after. It seems to me that either (or better yet, both) of these movies are a one-stop film-making class. So many unusual techniques, so many encouragements to experiment without restraint.

Well worth the time and intellectual excersize.

Fmovies: Mamoru Oshii's "Avalon" is one of the best movies I've ever seen. It's on par with "Blade Runner". This movie is truly ground-breaking cinema. The photography is fantastic. Tremendous thought went into the coloring of scenes - shading, lighting, and angles. Absolutely breathtaking! From heart-pounding moments of shock to quiet corners of solitude, this movie carries your soul to the furthest reaches of human experience. The sound track is marvelous, stunning, thrilling. The choral and orchestral contributions are refined and balanced, easily lifting you to climaxes expression, then drawing you to glide to imperceptible moments of lull. A work of art that will send shivers down your spine, warm your heart and fill your mind with deep thoughts. I will continue to watch this movie over and over again for the rest of my life. Way ahead of it's time. It is so unusual to find such a perfect combination of plot, special effects, orchestral arrangement, acting and inspirational settings. The depth of theory that underlies this philosophical tome of cinematography filled my soul with wonderment throughout each moment of this triumphant film. This movie is destined to be a classic in the annals of movie making! If there was a god, he has undoubtedly gently drawn breath through the artists who collaborated on this project. A masterwork of untouchable excellence!

I notice on the rating chart that the younger a person is, the higher this film gets rated. Well, I'm 53 years old and I'm giving it a 9 because it's brilliant. Maybe most "older" people simply aren't intellectually equipped to understand this film's blending of sci-fi, virtual reality, classical mythic archetypes, and terrific film work. Too bad. And I suppose the movie poses a challenge to most Americans with their aversion (provincial fear) of subtitles.

In any case, this is a Japanese production filmed and set in Poland, using Polish actors. And it is strangely wonderful in all respects: story, theme, characters, style, cinematography. It explores a virtual reality, William Gibson sort of story and theme. The protagonist is a young woman named Ash (Malgorzata Foremniak) who dons a headset and plays virtual reality games. And we, the viewers, go inside the games with her. What is real? What is virtual?

The director uses special film stock to get dream-like tones and visuals that will knock you out. In that respect, the images often remind me of early B&W American films. Lovely.

Avalon fmovies. While movies like Blade Runner, Gattaca and Dark City illustrate the potential to artificially >produce live< together with its uncontrollable feedbacks, Avalon plays in a world were life is worth nothing, since it is thought to be artificial. Ash's role is defined by stalking down everything and everyone who moves along. With her virtual reality gear on, herself and others might easily mistake her appearance for an avatar like Lara Croft. At first sight the goal of the game is to access Avalon – a sacred island that grants eternal youth and wisdom at the price of total oblivion. Ironically Ash is almost most of her time already in that state of mind – a beautiful young survivor in your favourite present-game-show. At the climax of Avalon's story appears a potential male-female-love-encounter: First as an identity-reassuring phantasm since Ash apparently is playing the game to meet her loved-one. And last the encounter serves as a potential (emergency) exit to gain back a sense of human reality. 1 am going to argue that in either case human reality remains a lost concept, but worthwhile to be maintained as an illusion of real virtuality -- in order to avoid sudden death and other unbearable events within game-levels without a reset button.

I noticed the movie got rated somewhat better by the younger part of the public and frankly, that doesn't surprise me. You'll have to have played an online shoot-em-up or war game at least once to see why the idea of a gamer making a life of her addiction in a near future isn't such an outlandish idea.

Avalon takes this idea to new extremes, without being cheap or easy and adds a healthy dose of magical realism. The artwork is stunning, the soundtrack very strong (and classical instead of the usual techno), the acting is cool and distant, which is all perfect for the dark setting. Even the choice of Poland as the scenery seems right on.

Why then doesn't this flic deserve a 10? Well, although I liked the story and though it does have depth, it is a bit one-dimensional. The world doesn't seem to harbor more than this one story and that's a shame. The movie could have become a classic with a little bit more background plot. But nonetheless, a must-see.

Avalon can be seen as part of a trilogy, the first installment of which would be Ghost in the Shell, the last, Ghost in the Shell: Innocence. Avalon contains many direct references to Ghost in the Shell, and shares a lot of its motif of philosophical search for the self. They also share the cyberpunk imagery, and the fact that the main heroine is an impassive female warrior. I mention all this because I think it's inadvisable to watch Avalon if you haven't watched Ghost in the Shell (and pondered on it a bit). Avalon can be extremely heavy at times. This movie does not make you think; watching Avalon is like trying to decipher a zen poem, which I think can be done, but not through intellectual decoding.

In Avalon, a lone hunter in a virtual reality game shares her life with a basset dog, and all her activities seem to be centered around getting better in the illegal, dangerous game and getting food the dog with the money she earns there. The game is illegal because you can die playing it; "really" die in the concrete, bleak urban world that Ash, the main hero, lives every day. However, apart from the possibility of virtual death, the game offers a secret - the highest level, Avalon. The legendary Avalon is the "Isle of the Blessed", where King Arthur lies in eternal sleep. In the movie, it is a mystery, which haunts Ash ever since the deaths of her last player team.

The search for Avalon is depicted in the most beautiful cinematography. The plot is very symbolic and should be considered so; the search for the gate to Avalon can mean many things, and the nature of the quest changes as Ash is getting closer. However, like Ghost in the Shell: Innocence, the movie is heavy and long, and the characters engage in philosophical discussion every time they can. With all its beautiful cinematography, interesting acting (very automaton-like, but intentionally so), and a set of intriguing philosophical questions, this movie suffers from heavy-handed imagery and symbols, sometimes. Hard science fiction pushes the science as far as possible; Avalon is an example of hard cyberpunk, where the confines of the conceptual world dreamed up by the director are explored fully and unremittingly.

If you are ready to take a film not as only entertainment, but also a challenge to your thinking power, Avalon, like all Oshii's movies, is a thrill. However, beautiful, intellectually rewarding science fiction does not have to be longish and heavy, as Avalon is at times. Watch Ghost in the Shell before it, watch Ghost in the Shell: Innocence after it, and approach this movie at your most relaxed, for it to be a rewarding rewarding experience; it can wear you down, otherwise.

One more thing: if you're Polish, watch the Japanese dub with English subtitles. The Polish lines were translated literally from the Japanese, and they are very often almost gibberish (and the Japanese voice-acting is better, too). Also, do not let the fact that the movie's virtual world seems to be set in your local K-mart detract from your watching experience.