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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Mysterious and Gorgeous Masterpiece, December 23, 2003
"Utena - the Movie" is a masterpiece, brilliant in color and concept, and fascinating in its plot and meanings. Of course, if you want connect-the-dots animation and plotting, or if you think that Utena and Anthy are sweet little teenagers, then you'll hate it, but this film was made for viewers who will want to see it again and again to puzzle out its secrets and mysteries. And "Utena" has secrets as well as some of the most gorgeous animation ever done, like the dance sequence and the final car chase. --- The film operates on two distinct, but interpenetrating registers. One is symbolic, and the other surrealist. Utena and Anthy, now older than they were in the television show, have once again met at Ohtori Academy, once again to find each other in a kind of karmic repetition of their past lives. Symbols of the past echo throughout the film as dying monuments. Utena's no-longer-really alive, once-boyfriend/lover Touga emerges from white shrouds to talk on the phone to Anthy's equally dead brother Akio, the unprincipled headmaster of a previous Ohtori Academy that nonetheless still enslaves Anthy. Crimson roses grow on a platform cantilevered high above Ohtori, tended by Anthy, still the Rose Bride to be won by duel. And splashes of blood red crimson stain not only the roses but the walls and walkways of the surreal world of Ohtori. The crimson of the roses is also the crimson of Anthy's blood, but the rose that Utena finds and that Anthy gives to her is white: unstained. It is a symbol of their undying love, loyalty, and interwoven fates. --- The film lacks the virtually Wagnerian high drama of the television show. Instead, it is more modern (as befits the reprise of Utena and Anthy's love story) and sharper edged, not absurdist, but surreal. The architecture of Ohtori Academy looks like a cross between de Chirico and a mecha designer gone mad, but that's Ohtori for you, the world from which Utena and Anthy escape. --- At one level, the film is simply the story of two young women who escape the repressions of adolescence to find themselves and each other. At another, it is an allegory of love, this between two women who will build their own roads together. At yet another, it is a portrayal of sexuality, warped and truly corrupt within Ohtori Academy, and centered and intimate between Utena and Anthy outside Ohtori. Ohtori is the world of consensus reality, and of acceptance of what is given and commanded, in brief, all the things that Utena and Anthy must escape. The Castle of Eternity, previously a hoped-for panacea for instant happiness, is now a polluting illusion, corrupt and lethal. It represents all that Utena and Anthy must destroy if they are to become real people, genuine and authentic. --- That the film succeeds in all this, and much more (the music is marvelous), is a tribute to the skills of director Kunihiko Ikuhara and artist Chiho Saito, the woman who drew the original manga. It is not necessary to know the previous versions, although that adds depth to the film, because ultimately the film stands alone: the story of two young women in love who find their way to freedom.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Adolescence of Utena, June 19, 2001
Yeah, I saw the fansub on video. Excellent little film. If David Lynch did anime, itd probably be like this. Maybe not as twisted as the last episodes of the tv series, but still a treat for surrealists and lovers of dense incomprehensible metaphor. (Count me in). Like I said, Twin Peaks, Lost Highway, that sort of thing, but with murder, incest, rape, betrayal, obsession, posession, sacrifice, true love, swordfighting and architecture Frank Gehry would puzzle over. But dont worry about family values, most of the adult themes are so densely obfuscated, it'll go right over kids' heads. Its all about friendship, love and loss, and growing up, essentially. A great soap opera romance novel heavy melodrama and bizarre satire, with a cast of just too many princes and princesses, but this aint yer mom's fairy tale. And if you watched the tv series, all the characters are still here, but rewritten to be parodies of themselves almost, so if you havent seen the tv show, it will still be fun, but there'll be weird references at times that are quite funny if you have seen the tv version. And I dont want to hear any gripes about the Wagnerian heavy metal soundtrack music. Its really quite appropriate and grows on you. Oh, make sure you watch a subtitled version. We all know dubbing is demeaning to the director and voice talents.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Power of the Revolution, August 5, 2003
I was immensley pleased when I heard that the Utena movie was coming out in America, being a very big fan of the original series and manga. At first seeing the movie, I was not dissapointed one little bit. The animation in this movie is supurb. Beautiful, rich, crisp images captivate your eyes throughout the entire movie. The graphic qaulity of this movie is in the same leauge as any Miyazaki movie, which is very good indeed. Even now, several years after the first release the movie visual capasity of this movie is better than most anime movies and series. In no way was the animation flawed at all. I especialy loved the dance scene between Utena and Anshii, which in my view is one of the most graphicly beautiful in all of anime, and certainly the highlight of the movie. The plot of the movie is based losely on the anime and manga series Shojo Kakumei Utena, or Revolutionary Girl Utena in English. The major theme of the plot is the same, Utena getting involved in the duels to keep possesion of the Rose Bride, Himemiya Anshii (in Japanese, last name then first name). And soon Utena and Anshii develope a very close friendship. That is one thing that the series has over the movie, it is that the relationship in the movie is lesbian, unlike in the series when the two are always trying to keep their feelings to themselves. Also unlike in the series which the movie is superior to it, is that Utena is clearly in love with Anshii, and she isn't being torn between either Touga or Anshii. That part of the series really bugged me, and the movie dosen't do that. However one flaw in the plot is that the movie presents Saionji as some insane woman beater. Although he has that outward apperence, it dosen't give his rather sad story like it dose in the show that shows exactly why Saionji is the way he is. Even the part at the end when Utena is morphed into a car for her and Anshii to escape in is wonderfully original and creative. Each of the characters is wonderful and has their own original personality. Utena's personality is kept pretty much the same in the anime and in the movie, which was fine with me. However, Anshii lost her 'gone with the wind' type of attitude that she held in the manga and series. After a while you get used to the personality change, and learn to like her new character. Touga and Shiori's character are kept pretty much the same, in which I can't stand Shiori. Although I don't remember Touga taking much of an interest in Shiori as he dose in the movie. Juri and Miki aren't really mentioned much so there really isn't a whole lot that changed in their character, and for some odd reason Miki still has that blasted stopwatch. Sound wise, the Japanese version was suberb while the English dub had some problems. Okay maybe more than some problems. Alright, the English version had A LOT of problems. While the dubbers kept the music the same, all of the voices made me want to chringe. Utena's voice was okay, there was a lot of room for improvment, but I delt with it. I could of pee'ed my self when I heard Anshii, Saionji, and Touga's English voice. They were AWFUL. The only good thing about the English dubb is that Miki for once, sounds like a guy. I never got why in the original he sounds like a girl. Not neccicarily a good voice that matched his character, but it was a masculine voice anyway. Overall, The Shojo Kakumei Utena movie, or The Adolesence of Utena was a wonderful movie. For any Utena fans out there it is a must see. I would not recomend that you watch this unless you have seen at least all the way through the Black Rose Arc and the Akio Arc in the series Shojo Kakumei Utena. If not you WILL be lost and confused. When I showed this to my friend, who had not seen the show Utena but knew the basic plot information, she was VERY lost in the movie plot. Also, THIS MOVIE IS NOT FOR YOUNGER AUDIENCES. PLEASE HEED THE PG-13 RATING. Like I said, this movie is a must see for any Utena fan, weither you like the manga version of anime, The Adolesence of Utena is a wonderful movie, with a lovely images, a creative plot, and awsome characters.
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