Memories

It's an anthology. It's three stories of 45 minutes, 40 minutes and 15 minutes that have nothing at all to do with one another. In fact, the film's title only refers to the first story. This film is one part science-fiction thriller, one part bioterrorism comedy (THERE'S a category I've never put a film in!) and one part single-shot (99% of it, anyway) borderline-documentary.

Disney couldn't make a film this engrossing if the fate of mankind depended on it.

Those who have what I call the "It's an Anime" stigma should shake it off for "Memories". Rent this. Buy this. See this!

This was an amazingly beautiful film, filled with great music that only pushed each scene along wonderfully. I thought this was a great piece of film. I have had the pleasure of showing this to friends that have always looked down on what anime is, and walk away stunned. Some might find these stories slow, but I think if you have any real appreciation of anime, you will find this to be an interesting piece of work. It consists of three stores. Koji Morimoto's "Magnetic Rose", Tensai Okamura's "Stink Bomb", and Katsuhiro Otomo's "Cannon Fodder". I would say that Magnetic rose was perhaps the deepest of these three stores. Offering a beautiful mix of classical music, with a futuristic settings to offer a sense of contrast. Stink Bomb being the more lighthearted of the three. While still maintaining a grim reality, and almost eerie sense of setting, using a more modern day look, and music. Then Cannon Fodder, right from an Orwell idealized future, with the loud sounds, and marches. These movies all offer up something different, and wonderful, while still working there way along a nice line of thought.

"Memories" (1995) is a pretty good movie, and if you want to get as much out of it as possible, there are a few things you need to keep in mind before watching:

Memories is a three-episode anime including three separate stories: "Magnetic Rose", "Stink Bomb" and "Cannon Fodder". There is no cohesion between the stories, so don't spend time looking for similar plot elements. There are none.

The first episode, Magnetic Rose, is a sci-fi anime that occasionally borderlines horror, similar to "Alien" but in a more psychological way. This part is rich with great visuals and superb sound, so get close to the screen and turn all the lights out. If possible, use a pair of headphones to get really submersed.

Stink Bomb is a light, bioterrorism comedy. It provides a few shocking frames in the first third of the movie which can be a bit intense, but it lightens up afterwards and provides a hilarious ride which shouldn't be taken too seriously.

Cannon Fodder is the more artistic and rawer episode out of the three. Pay attention to the smooth flows between the sceneries and get ready for some 1984-like vistas and philosophies.

My personal grade: a solid 7/10. If you found this helpful, check my profile for more reviews.

An anthology movie split into three distinct pieces, so I thought it better to review them all separately.

Memories (1/3): Magnetic Rose - 7/10

Part 1 of the anthology movie that is Memories starts with what most people consider to be the best of the three: Magnetic Rose. Broadly speaking, it sees the crew of a ship in deep space investigating a distress signal, and then coming across some unexpected things.

It introduces its premise confidently, a little slowly, but overall surely, and it builds mystery well as things go along. As a piece of sci-fi, it's moderately intriguing, but I think it's all boosted immensely by the visuals on offer. What's happening doesn't seem too important, sometimes, when the animation is this striking.

Memories (2/3): Stink Bomb - 6.5/10

Stink Bomb is perhaps the best Japanese film about bureaucratic boobery that isn't Shin Godzilla. It's a good deal sillier than the first short film in the Memories anthology, but it's still fairly entertaining, following a ridiculous young man who accidentally turns himself into a bioweapon.

It does feel like a bit of a goofy kaiju movie parody, and even if that's the only real joke the short has, at least it's a funny joke, and at least it's only a short film, rather than them trying to stretch something like this to feature-length. I had fun, but it probably won't stick with me.

Memories (3/3) - Cannon Fodder - 6.5/10

The most visually unusual of the three, Cannon Fodder also stands out because it runs for 20-something minutes, while the other two shorts are both approximately 40-45 minutes each. As much as I can gather, it's about the meaningless of war, all done with a futuristic slant that bleakly suggests the human race will never change, and firing increasingly advanced cannons will always just be a thing.

It feels satirical, but not in a truly funny way. It's kind of feel-bad and has a vibe that feels off, but that feels intentional, and I think it makes for an offbeat and sort of fitting end to the overall anthology movie that is Memories.

Amazing anime trilogy from AKIRA's Katsuhiro Otomo, who presents three unrelated sci fi stories directed by different directors (he did the last one, writers/first-time directors Tensai Okamura and Koji Morimoto did the other two). They are amazing vignettes with some stupendous animation in three different styles. Otomo's is especially unique in that there are no cuts – the "camera" moves fluidly through every scene without a jump or a stop. Morimoto's 40-min "Magnetic Rose" is stunningly animated, the most amazing of the two, telling of a space ship's investigation of a distress signal discovering a magnificent world created by a woman's memories – the music takes advantage of the operatic aria, Madame Butterfly, arranged by Yoko Kanno, who also supplies an excellent original score. "Stink Bomb," the middle segment, is clever and funny and fast-paced; Otomo's anti-war statement in "Cannon Fodder" closes out the film with a subtle bit of thought-provocation about a city whose entire purpose is the firing of cannons at an unknown enemy.