Planet 51

Tuesday 1st December 2009

Dir. Jorge Blanco
Rating ***

As Disney Pixar rides the success of unrivalled animated victory, this year has seen numerous studios attempting to set their mark alongside the CG greats. With Monsters Vs. Aliens, Coraline, Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs and 9 having cropped up, new Spain-based Ilion Animation Studios have now tried their hand, offering an original twist to an alien invasion.

When sixteen year-old Lem (Justin Long) gets his dream job at the local planetarium, everything seems set for a safe, predictable life – he’s got his best friend Skiff (Seann William Scott) and steady job; the only thing left is to get the girl next door, Neera (Jessica Biel). But when a strange spacecraft suddenly crash-lands in Neera’s backyard, Lem’s mundane life he’s grown to love is turned upside down. In a world where Planet 51’s inhabitants believe the universe to be a meagre 500 miles long, the prospect of an alien landing is as far-fetched as something out of a comic book. Yet when Captain Charles T. Baker (Dwayne Johnson) steps forth from his American space-hub, it’s up to Lem to kiss his comfortable life goodbye and save the marooned human before he is clutched by the planet’s army general Grawl (Gary Oldman) and brain-obsessed Professor Kipple (John Cleese) who are convinced that their beloved planet is under attack.

Set in a world reminiscent of 1950’s American suburbia, Planet 51 is a light comedy offering jabs at a time when things were pure and sweet, whilst whimsically setting them in an alien environment. But despite an all-star cast, the underdeveloped characters lack likeability and alienate (pun intended!) viewers from feeling any real connection with the little green men. Poorly cast Justin Long, with his awkward personality, does not translate well as an animated character, and both Jessica Biel and John Cleese are barely noticeable in their feeble roles. Although the visuals are admirable for an independent animation studio, the comedy is so mediocre that it cannot contend with most of the animated greats released this year; and with references to a plethora of films – from WALL-E to Star Wars to Terminator – the film lacks comical originality, a great shame as the inventive story could have made it a successful release if the boat had been pushed just that little bit further.

As an average animated film, Planet 51 fairs well enough, but without a distinct spirit it offers a bubble-gum sweetness without the pop.

PUBLISHED IN SCREEN JABBER

Departures

Friday 27th November 2009

Dir. Yojiro Takita
Rating ***

This poignant film has become internationally acclaimed since it won the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award early this year. Director Yojiro Takita’s touching story based on an unconventional idea triumphed over many, and quite rightly so.

When Daigo Kobayashi’s (Motoki) dreams of being a professional cellist in Tokyo are dashed, he returns to his small suburban hometown in Yamagata with his wife Mika (Hirosue) in the hopes of finding a normal, steady job and starting afresh. Not long after they arrive, Daigo finds an ad in the paper offering great money in the ‘departures’ industry and immediately goes to the interview with high hopes. But after meeting Sasaki (Yamazaki), the company owner who offers him the job no-questions-asked, Daigo’s hopes for a ‘normal’ job diminish and he learns that he has been hired as an encoffiner’s assistant, which involves ceremonially preparing corpses for cremation. With no other job prospects, Daigo reluctantly accepts the position, but ashamedly keeps the details of his new career from his wife, revealing only that his work involves ceremonies. But as Daigo encounters each body, along with their grieving families, he begins to appreciate the beauty of the encoffiner’s workmanship and develops a new understanding of the relationship between life and death.

Yojiro Takita’s adept blend of comedy and drama in this tale of Japan’s oldest tradition is both enchanting and endearing as we witness various families that have been touched with death – from an elderly grandmother to a cross-dressing boy – and the way in which encoffiners act almost as a medium between the departed and their loved ones. With moving performances from both Motoki and Yamazaki, we, as viewers, journey with Daigo as his perception of an encoffiner changes from being that of the greatest taboo to being that of a humble service; and as grieving children bid a last farewell to their parents, and vice versa, the importance of this ritual becomes most prevalent, especially to those left behind.

Though slightly dragging in the end and with an unconvincing performance by Hirosue (most frustrating opposite a wonderful Motoki), Departures offers a touching grace as the delicacy of a misunderstood profession unfolds; and with an honest and moving sentimentality, the film offers a refreshing, and at times comical, view of the cycle of life and death.

PUBLISHED IN SCREEN JABBER