Blog From The Bench

Last year, director Makoto Shinkai (Voices of a Distant Star) won the annual Mainichi Film Award for Best Animated Film for his latest work, The Place Promised in Our Early Days. For this award, the film beat out favorites such as Katsuhiro Otomo’s Steamboy and Hayao Miyazaki’s Howl’s Moving Castle. It also broke numerous attendance records during its opening weekend. Now, this thoughtful sci-fi hit arrives in North America for all to see, but does it take flight?

After a brutal civil war in a near-future Japan, the country has been divided in two, with a massive sea separating both halves. After growing up one side, all two best friends know about the other side is what they can see: a giant tower in the distance, rising out of sight. The boys are engineers in training, and are building their own small plane, with the hopes of someday flying across the sea and visiting the tower in person. They let a young girl in on their secret, and the three of them make a promise to fly to that tower someday.

Then, fast forward a few years. As young adults, our protagonists have drifted apart, and one has disappeared altogether. Political strife leads to resumed fighting among both halves of the country. In a high-tech laboratory, scientists aim their instruments on the mysterious tower, which holds secrets that change the world. Drifting back into each others’ lives, our heroes decide to keep their childhood promise, no matter what the risk.

If you’re one of the ones who doesn’t “get” what the big deal about this anime stuff is, this film is a good place to start. It has a lot of makes anime popular. The visuals are absolutely top notch. The colors jump of the screen, and character movements and facial expressions are fluid and detailed. The storyline is serious and ponderous, devoid of any slapstick silliness. There is a science fiction element to the plot, but it takes a back seat to the characters and their interactions.

Other elements that make anime popular aren’t here, though. If you’re hoping for giant robots or butt-kicking kung fu, this isn’t where to go. The mood in The Place Promised in Our Early Days is a ponderous, melancholy one. If you want an alternative to Disney-style kiddie fare, then this could be just what you’re looking for. But if you want an action-packed sci-fi roller coaster ride, try Appleseed instead.

Keeping up with all the visual eye candy, the 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is nearly flawless. The sound comes in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround in both English and Japanese, and makes full use of all the speakers. I just about flew out of my chair when a realistic gunshot sound effect came out of the left rear speaker behind me. Subtitles are in English. There are no extras.

The Place Promised in Our Early Days arrived in stores on July 12, 2005, courtesy of ADV Films. For more information, go here or here. Give it a rental if you're in the mood for something different.