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Origin: Spirit of the Past

  • Film
  • 2 out of 5 stars
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Time Out says

2 out of 5 stars
There’s little of substance for anime fans in this diligently drawn but humourless and stale post-apocalyptic eco-yarn from Japanese studio Gonzo. A poetic opening scene sees boisterous young Agito race one of his cohorts through the remains of a once bustling cityscape. It’s known as Neutral City, a dilapidated safe haven that stands between the warring factions of a haunted forest on one side and a military stockade on the other.

Mixing sharp CG backdrops – pumping pistons and future war machines – with cartoony hand-drawn characters, the film covers similar eco-parable terrain to Miyazaki’s ‘Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind’ (1984) as well as forthcoming Pixar charmer ‘Wall-E’, but with the grace and heart of neither. Awkward allusions to consumerism, military dictatorship in times of strife and the need for environmental caution lead to a final showdown in the belly of a volcano which should be epic. It’s not.
Written by David Jenkins

Release Details

  • Rated:12A
  • Release date:Friday 11 July 2008
  • Duration:96 mins

Cast and crew

  • Director:Keiichi Sugiyama
  • Screenwriter:Naoko Kakimoto, Nana Shiina
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