STEAMBOY
(a film review by Mark R. Leeper)
CAPSULE: A total surprise, this refreshing and
enjoyable alternate history anime film packs
quite a lot of action and adventure in one film.
Particularly for fans of Jules Verne this film
is a solid pleasure. Rating: high +3 (-4 to +4)
or 9/10
Where do I start? I like adventure films and STEAMBOY is not
only the most action-packed anime adventure film can remember
seeing, it may also be one of the most exciting adventure films
of this decade. STEAMBOY is one of the rare adventure films that
gave me the same kind of excitement I got with the 1977 STAR
WARS. The director is Katsuhiro Otomo who directed one of the
classics of anime (though one that did not impress me nearly as
much), AKIRA. He wrote the original manga "Akira" and directed
the film based on it. He repeated that feat with what is for me
the much more enjoyable STEAMBOY, working on the twenty-million-
dollar film a reported ten years.
STEAMBOY is in a sub-genre sometimes called "steam-punk." That
is it is science fiction set around the time that Jules Verne
wrote about. So how would I compare it to Verne films? Being
anime it can easily beat the amount of action of 20,000 LEAGUES
UNDER THE SEA or JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, two films I
much enjoy. Animation is much less restrictive than live action.
The filmmaker is limited only by what the artist can visualize.
This is an adventure that gives and gives some more and gives
still more after that. And still it is just in the early stages.
It is a film on the responsibility of science and of the
scientist that discoveries not be misused. Japanese films have
been examining that theme since GOJIRA in 1954 as well they have
a right to. But in this film, set in 1866 the technology that is
in danger of being misused is steam technology.
In 1866, Ray Steam works in a steam plant in Manchester, England.
He wants some connection to his esteemed forebears. It seems he
is the son and grandson of great steam inventors though he may
not yet have their talent. But Ray does not know even where his
father and grandfather are or what they are doing. He fills a
role as a functionary in a steam plant to try to live up to the
family name. One day a mysterious sort of spherical valve is
delivered to him at his home, addressed to him from his
grandfather. The message is to give it to nobody. But almost
immediately there are two men at his door explaining why they
need to take this odd device. Ray realizes he must protect the
sphere from them and the adventure is off and running. His
prized device will take him to London where the Great Exhibition
of 1866 is soon to take place. The strange ball valve has
something to do with an immense machine being built right next
the Great Exhibition. Somehow involved in all this is a girl
Ray's age named Scarlett. His relationship with her is anything
but steamy. She is a vain and imperious, but Ray may need her as
an ally against The Foundation, the organization trying to steal
his grandfather's sphere. Ray is involved in a war involving
steam-powered suits, steam flying machines, and machines that
dwarf people.
The film is in Japanese with (very good) English subtitles and it
seems odd to hear all these early Victorians speaking Japanese.
Like the film SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW this is a
view of the future as it might have been as seen from a point in
the past. STEAMBOY is a large-scale adventure film full of a
sense of wonder at technology and also a discussion of nuclear
weapons in allegory. And it is a lot more. I rate it a high +3
on the -4 to +4 scale or 9/10.
Mark R. Leeper
mleeper@optonline.net
Copyright 2005 Mark R. Leeper
========== X-RAMR-ID: 39567 X-Language: en X-RT-ReviewID: 1370722 X-RT-TitleID: 10004339 X-RT-AuthorID: 1309 X-RT-RatingText: 9/10
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