IN MY TRAVELS…
(NEW YORK PREMIERE OF THE SKY CRAWLERS, LINCOLN CENTER)
By Khalid Strickland a.k.a. Dirty Angel
All stills from The Sky Crawlers are (c) Stage 6 Films / Production I.G.
THE SAGA CONTINUES…
While getting hammered and pushin’ up on honeys at Run-DMC’s 25th Anniversary Party, I nearly forgot that I was scheduled to attend a movie premiere the following eve. The next day, I was worn-out and desperately wanted to clock Z’s. But once again I thought of the Insomniac readers and dragged my tequila-soaked carcass over to the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center. New York-Tokyo, a great organization who sponsors cool and fun events all over town, was premiering an animated film called The Sky Crawlers. The flick was directed by Mamoru Oshii, who also directed two of my favorite anime joints: Ghost In The Shell, and its sequel, Innocence. Best believe my expectations for The Sky Crawlers (produced by Ghost’s incredible animation team, Production I.G.) were pretty high. Before the screening, the capacity crowd watched a special video introduction by the director himself.
The Sky Crawlers takes place in a futuristic world where war, as we know it, has been eradicated. In this alternate version of Earth, private “war contractors” enlist their own fighter pilots in an endless “war for entertainment.” These pilots are called Kildren; innocent-looking teenagers who never age into adulthood. They just live in a state of eternal adolescence (like your 40-year old, jobless friend mooching off his mom) until the day they’re finally killed in battle. But with its brilliantly-executed aerial combat scenes, eroticism and heavy casualties, The Sky Crawlers is no corny Peter Pan flick. The film’s main protagonist, a Kildren pilot named Yuichi, arrives to his newly-assigned airbase with sketchy memories of his past. The female base commander, Suito, is also a Kildren and seems to know more about Yuichi than he does about himself. Even though he’s perplexed, Yuichi gradually becomes attracted to Suito and a Pandora’s Box of plot twists, mayhem and gunplay springs open. There’s also a mysterious enemy fighter pilot called The Teacher, an invincible ace who always gets the best of his opponents… the Michael Jordan of aerial carnage, if you will. Instead of wearing a Number 23, however, The Teacher rocks a black jaguar emblem on the side of his plane.
Movie-goers looking for endless amounts of brawling and bloodshed, ala Ninja Scroll, may want to scale back their expectations a bit; although the combat scenes are fierce and realistic when they do occur, The Sky Crawlers is more of a cerebral film. I admit, I came to the theater looking for a shoot ‘em up like Ghost In The Shell, but I’m also a fan of well-written, character-driven screenplays so I was satisfied. Come to think of it, the Ghost In The Shell films and their Adult Swim TV series were pretty cerebral too.
The Sky Crawlers was nominated for the coveted Golden Lion at this year’s Venice Film Festival and it’s a really good movie. I highly recommend it and fellow anime fans will be dazzled by the stunning animation. Production I.G. is at the top of their game per usual.
See more stills from The Sky Crawlers at THE FLICKR PHOTO SET.
All stills from The Sky Crawlers are (c) Stage 6 Films / Production I.G.
For more stories and work by Dirty Angel visit www.supremearsenal.com and www.myspace.com/blackpacino.
