Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within.
Aug. 6th, 2001 11:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
baratronI forgot to mention that when Richard and I went to see the Final Fantasy film last Wednesday, we got accosted by a young man who claimed to be from the Independent on Sunday, wanting to ask us some questions about it. We thought he looked far too young to be a real journalist, but were feeling amiable enough. So yesterday we got the paper, just in case - and much to our amusement there we were, quoted on page 14 of the Arts supplement, with photos too.
The film, by the way, is very good. The plot is a bit holey, particularly with regard to the science (I don't expect the science in a science fiction film to be realistic, but it should at least be internally consistent), and a couple of the characters are barely developed at all then thrown away just as you're getting to know them. In particular, I couldn't help but notice how cutesily heterosexual everyone seems to be. But the CGI and the music are both excellent, and overall the film does live up to the hype.
One of the questions that random young journo asked jarred in my mind for a long time afterwards, and I've finally realised why. He asked what we thought of the film as entertainment. The word "entertainment" seemed completely wrong for the experience. For me, the only films I think of as entertainment are comedies. I came out of Final Fantasy crying, with a feeling that I now had a better understanding of what it is to be human. That's very different from being entertained.
The film, by the way, is very good. The plot is a bit holey, particularly with regard to the science (I don't expect the science in a science fiction film to be realistic, but it should at least be internally consistent), and a couple of the characters are barely developed at all then thrown away just as you're getting to know them. In particular, I couldn't help but notice how cutesily heterosexual everyone seems to be. But the CGI and the music are both excellent, and overall the film does live up to the hype.
One of the questions that random young journo asked jarred in my mind for a long time afterwards, and I've finally realised why. He asked what we thought of the film as entertainment. The word "entertainment" seemed completely wrong for the experience. For me, the only films I think of as entertainment are comedies. I came out of Final Fantasy crying, with a feeling that I now had a better understanding of what it is to be human. That's very different from being entertained.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2001-08-07 06:42 am (UTC)Interesting commentary. I saw Final Fantasy a few weeks ago and while I can see where it is supposed to be moving and meaningful, there was always something (that I couldn't identify at the time) that kept me from giving myself over to the film enough to be swept away by it. Upon reflection, I think it was that the facial animations when the characters were speaking didn't match the way real people's faces move. Not the lip movements, but the entire facial structure.