A Tree of Palme

Whilst this can be a bit slumpy in places. I feel that it does depict the depth of palmes love and inner torment.

"One minute, Palme is a humble hero in search of himself, the next a violent psycho with an unhealthy fixation on a girl" ¬Mindboggling, by Sarah US

is that not love? it is not illogical and complex, conflicting and overwhelming? It is beautifully portrayed through the eyes of palme. a boy made of wood to be a companion of a girl. the tree from which he was cast was sentient so he developed thoughts akin to feelings.

The story is bittersweet. it follows palme as he explores who he is as well as what perceived feelings and attachments truly are. you feel for palme but because he's not 'a real boy' you are with him without feeling uncomfortable. the mesh between Pinocchio and Puppy is a clever and essential device to the telling of the story. If you cannot appreciate that then you have missed the point entirely.

I would class this as slice of life rather than fantasy. but there are 2 types of the aforementioned. If you want an anime that spells it all out for you and leaves you feeling all cutesy-poo then this is not for you. If you like anime that provokes thought and the slice of life you're after is the big questions and quandaries then this is a must see.

I bought this DVD purely on the spur of the moment, having not heard anything about it. Having sat down to watch it, it's certainly an intriguing and surreal film, which is worth a viewing, if you fancy something out of the ordinary.

The story, is essentially a fantastical retelling of the Pinocchio fable. A boy robot is desperate to become human, but has to join a group of aliens, humans and other robots to rescue the soul of the robot boy's mother, whilst trying to outwit a second band of aliens who are prepared to do anything to stop him from his goal.

This is not your usual type of anime. In fact, it's almost pseudo-anime: the vast majority of artwork is undertaken by a Korean animation team, and is quite dissimilar to regular anime art. There are still characters with large, friendly eyes, but the backgrounds aren't as detailed as in some recent works like "Akira", "Ghost In The Shell" and "Perfect Blue". Having said that, the film is well animated, and the use of CGI is limited but credible, rather than overpowering.

But, with that all said and done, this is a movie that is aimed at people with a good attention span, and an audience willing to give the film the time it needs to breathe. The story is leisurely-paced for sure, but if you let it lead you down its path, you should grow to like it.

As you watch the film, you will notice many nods to other works and artists, including "Akira", Rin Taro, "Metropolis" (the anime), Osamu Tezuka and many, many more. Don't let this put you off, because whilst this could be seen as Nakamura being unoriginal, the combination of recognisable works actually helps the film, rather than hinders it.

The UK DVD release from ADV Films is superb, with both an English-dubbed and English-subtitled version, both in 2.00:1 Anamorphic Widescreen. Occasionally, the subtitles can go a little too fast, or get a tad confusing, but on the whole, it is a great effort. If you are willing to devote the time to this film, and don't come expecting lots of big action set-pieces, then you may be pleasurably surprised.

One word of caution though: although predominantly a film suitable for children, there are some scenes of bloody violence that may not be appropriate, or deemed a little too dark and mature in tone for them to cope with.

The animation was good, the imagery was good, although not totally original, however, the story was too long, way too confusing, and over the top dramatic. After about an hour I couldn't wait to get it over with. With so many characters that have nothing to contribute and plot elements that either come from nowhere or go nowhere this movie really wasn't one movie at all and would have been better of as a short series or possibly two movies. If you like this kind of typical story maybe you will like it, but frankly, I've been spoiled by much more creative stories that actually have some sort message to tell. Go rent a Miyazaki film and watch it twice, you'll get way more out of it.

Amazing world building in various levels. There's so much to like here: pinocchio, memory tree, various tribes and locations, a Dune/Nausicaa style environment, search for tree sap (like the spice from Dune) and much more.

Monsters, magic, technology, and a resentful spirit of an unloved woman. A pilgrimage to deliver a mcguffin to its destination, and the promise of something good.. or terribly bad.

The film is a Pinocchio story that is hard to follow, while being visually quite interesting.. sadly the script is too messy for me to enjoy. It's not a "I don't get it" kind of story because it is deep and complexly written.. but because it wants to deliver high concept ideas and tries to do too many things at the same time.

The pacing is awful, the developments not very interesting, it constantly tries to be mature and scary, and it doesn't say much. Ultimately, the execution isn't capable of satisfying.. but some elements and the setup are intriguing enough to at least give it a try.