Spring & Chaos
by Sh?ji Kawamori, Stuart J. Levy
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DVD details
Actor: Chikao ?tsuka, Kirk Durham, Mariko Kouda, Shir? Sano, Victor ChinDirector: Sh?ji Kawamori, Stuart J. Levy
Writer: Sh?ji Kawamori
Producer: Stuart J. Levy
Producer: Atsumi Tashiro
Producer: Ken Fujita
Producer: Takao Abe
Writer: Kenji Miyazawa
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; Japanese (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); German (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Georgian (Subtitled); Chinese (Subtitled)
Format: Animated, Collector's Edition, Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 55 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-05-29
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Tokyopop Pictures
DVD Reviews of Spring & Chaos
DVD Review: I never thought I, of all people, would call a movie too impressionist...
Summary: 3 Stars
Spring and Chaos (Shoji Kawamori, 1996)
Just as the first definitive edition of Kenji Miyazawa's poetry appears in the United States (from University of California Press), Spring and Chaos hits the bargain bins at movie stores and Targets all across the nation. This could actually be a good thing; Miyazawa is a name pretty much unknown to anyone outside the poetry fanatic, and who better than Shoji Kawamori, the mind behind the mega-popular Macross, to bring his message to the masses?
This short, impressionist Miyazawa biopic (with all the characters anthropomorphized as cats, in case you're into that sort of thing) can in no way be said to be unbiased, complete, or anything other than Shoji Kawamori's vision. We get small pieces of Miyazawa (voice of Shiro Sano, recently of Godzilla 2000)'s life, all framed by his time as a schoolteacher, a position he resigns in order to go to the fields and be a farmer (whether this is something he finds inspirational, or whether it's because he empathizes more with the poverty-stricken farmers of his province--or both--is left to debate). There are frequent flashbacks to earlier times in his life, and hallucinatory sequences meant to illustrate the creative process, but the main story centers on Miyazawa's relationship with one of his students/former students, Tekichi (voice of Jonathan Funk in the English dubbing; the Japanese voice actor is uncredited on my DVD), a petty criminal whom Miyazawa attempts to redeem.
Obviously, not the comprehensive work (or illusion of same) we've come to expect from the biopic, so Spring and Chaos is perhaps better considered as simply an interesting experiment in animation; from this angle, I believe it succeeds quite nicely. Kawamori lives up to his lofty reputation, never letting the viewer get comfortable within the subject matter; he's always going to throw some sort of visual curve ball your way (just as Miyazawa is constantly doing to his students; it might be productive for the American contemplating picking this up to think of it as Goodbye, Mr. Chips with talking cats set in the dust bowl during the Depression) to keep you interested. Still, I do wish there had been a stronger link to Miyazawa's life. ***
DVD Review: The Experience of Being a Poet
Summary: 5 Stars
The unwritten rule in animation is that you should only animate what can't be put to film with actors. On the surface, Spring and Chaos seems to defy that rule, presenting the biographical story of Japan's most celebrated poet, Kenji Miyazawa. However, to take us out of the harsh reality of Miyazawa's life, director Shoji Kawamori uses animation to bring us into his soul. Trees sparkle and shudder when inspiration strikes. Mountains glisten by night. The dead swim through wintry fields, hoping to take Miyazawa back down with them. It's a film filled with metaphoric beauty - definitely one of the most unique animated films I've ever seen. Highly recommended!DVD Review: Dud
Summary: 2 Stars
I got this expecting a fascinating insight into the life of the man who wrote the mythical Night on the Galactic Railroad. I expected to see crazy stories and hijinks of an eccentric man and to discover his inspirations for such bizarre material. Boy was I wrong.
Spring and Chaos is mostly boring with only sporadic moments of innovative animation. It's certainly nothing to write home about and nowhere near as good as NOTGR which is something that I suggest you watch instead. Leave this bore alone.
DVD Review: A beautiful, poignant anime
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a beautiful anime about one of Japan's greatest poets. The animation is spectacular, and I really don't think this could've been done better. The only problem with this DVD is the fact that the subtitles aren't in sync with the Japanese dialogue. But the movie itself and all of the other extras make up for the subtitling issue.DVD Review: Incoherent
Summary: 3 Stars
I agree with the other reviewers about the rich imagination and well written script - something rarely seen in anime. What bothered me with this movie was the excessive use of computer graphics. The CG were completely out of place and unnatural, which almost completely ruined this movie for me. The hand-drawn parts are fine, though. This movie is supposed to be an animated movie, and it doesn't deliver the animation part in a believable way - hence the three stars. You have been warned.
Description of Spring & Chaos
Directed by acclaimed anime creator Shouji Kawamori (Macross), this is the animated biography of Kenji Miyazawa, a poet and writer who lived between 1896-1933 in Iwate, Japan. With the use of cats as characters in the story, expressive editing, and computer graphics, the animation captures the fantastic and surrealistic world of Kenji Miyazawa, whose works are often known to be allegorical and abstract.Although known in the West only as the author of The Night on the Galactic Railroad, Kenji Miyazawa (1896-1933) ranks as Japan's best-loved 20th-century poet and children's author. For this evocative biography, writer-director Shoji Kawamori (Macross) uses animal characters in place of humans, as Miyazawa did in his fairy tales. The poet's difficult life--Miyazawa achieved fame only posthumously--suggests a combination of Dead Poets Society and Amadeus. Kawamori employs a spectrum of visual styles to suggest the breadth of Miyazawa's inspiration; the moment when the Galactic Railroad appears in his imagination ranks among the most effective uses of computer animation in recent anime. The result is a warm, humane introduction to a major figure in Japanese culture. Unrated; suitable for ages 10 and up: complex themes, occasional grotesque images. --Charles Solomon
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