[lubczyk]

Originally Posted by sa547

Well, I'm looking forward to try see this flick because there's Kikuchi and Kuriyama doing VA roles but...



Yeah, judging from some Japanese films usually being shown on the late-night WOWOW slots (by experience of many nights till dawn), are art-house, made for an intelligentsia audience, who like very deep philosophical themes and read websites like The Midnight Eye, try to keep awake while watching (maybe not once but three times), ponder and analyze the problems of war, violence and conflict, and Sky Crawlers fits right in as well.

In short, this flick will require me a huge mug of coffee.

If you want intelligent, Read War and Peace, not watch this. Don't try to pass off a couple instances of probable symbolizes and a pacifist message as intelligent. Just because one can commit their thoughts to audio, text or film does not make it intelligent.

Intelligent and philosophical are two things the Sky Crawlers is not.

Spoiler for My Thoughts:

This film's praises make the same mistake as Hollywood does - Just because a movie has a message does not make it intelligent. This movie is not intelligent. It just states it's message of "War is bad and is endless" without any critical analysis to back it up. It's nothing more than an assertion.

For this movie to be an intelligent message about war, it would have to way the various avenues besides the clear biases of "War is bad and therefore endless." It doesn't examine the motives of both sides fighting. It doesn't examine any other possible avenues. It doesn't examine diplomacy. It doesn't examine the consequences of losing or winning of any of the sides. It doesn't examine the history behind the conflict. It's message is the means to an end. That's not how life works and absolutely not how intelligent media does either.

The questions about the Kildren the movie asks are not resolved or explored in any meaningful way. The central idea of "War is Bad and therefore endless" is not questioned and therefore it cannot not be critically analyzed or argued. Besides, the characters still fight besides making these assertions so it legitimizes their arguments even more. If War is so bad and endless, why do they focus and glorify the fighting? "War is bad and therefore endless" message is nothing more than a punchline to appeal tot he Japanese psyche while they are merely watching a simplistic action/drama movie.