Osamu Tezuka is a legend in the manga world. Almost all legendary mangakas adore his style and they said, Tezuka has brought a new wave to a graphic depiction of story-telling in the manga world. With that big name, it is intriguing to know Tezuka would create a movie like this. An X-rated animation film, and from some sources I read, tried to reach US market.
A Thousand & One Nights is a kind of story that always never stapled when retold in another piece. The story will be entangled with anything you might vaguely remember, letting many plots slipped in and making it total different story than the original. Like this film, the only thought preserved in the end is the maximum attempt of anime cinematic experimentation I've ever seen.
With almost two hours, this film focused in Aldin, a newcomer in Baghdad, only to be mesmerized with the beauty of a slave girl, Miriam. Falling in love, he brings Miriam away and the story becomes too crazy after that. The story almost not important, due to many strange elements fused including nymphomaniac-like jinn, Babel tower, and passive-aggressive thief's daughter. It's like a long-running soap opera with millions of subplot, mostly covered in tragedy and lovey-dovey acts.
The story only seems to usher us in many experimental scenes in anime-making. For example, lots of psychedelics imagery implying sexual positions followed by many presentations of boobs. There are scenes where they combine real-life scenes with animation. Also, many exterior shots using city miniatures.
Frankly speaking, rather than the experimental nature of this film, crude racism, and sexism which featured heavily, become my initial concern upon seeing this film. Blatant and banal prejudices of Arab culture, seem too much that I couldn't ignore anymore. In a way, I think it's just the problem of how filmmakers in the past perceived unknown culture in a lighter platform like animation or comedy.
For a movie that handled by Osamu Tezuka, A Thousand and One Nights only capable to showcase the possibility of anime filmmaking with tremendous amounts of experimental sequences. Other than that, it's merely a weird anime film that you may encounter at least once in your life. If you looking for that kind of anime film, I am sure this film would be one of the best choices.
