Malice@Doll (2000)
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| Artsmagic (USA). All Regions, NTSC. 4:3. English DD 2.0 Japanese DD 2.0 English Subtitles. 80 minutes |
| The Movie |
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| Credits |
Director: Keitarou
Motonaga
Screenplay: Chiaki Konaka
Tagline: 'I am
doll and I will give you a kiss…'
Country: Japan |
Malice@Doll is curious offering from
Artsmagic, which is a strange hybrid of anime
and CGI, but it is actually a rather enjoyable
little film.
The story itself is a straightforward, if offbeat,
affair. Set in future time when humans have long
gone, the setting is a place where all that's
left is machinery, technical equipment and robots.
A number of these are robots that once served
as mechanical prostitutes to the human men, and
call themselves 'dolls'. One such
doll is Malice, who one day discovers that she
is malfunctioning and is sent to be repaired by
'Joe', who is apparently in charge
of this desolate world. On her way to the repair
shop, and as she travels the cavernous ruins of
what was once a great city, Malice encounters
a bizarre tentacled creature, which proceeds to
sexually assault her. Following this encounter,
Malice finds that she has been miraculously transformed
into a human being of flesh and blood, not only
that, but she can pass on this gift by giving
a simple kiss. However, this kiss results in some
pretty mind-boggling transformations whereby the
recipients do indeed become flesh and blood beings,
if not quite human in appearance. But there is
unrest in the camp, and 'Joe' is not
happy with what is happening…
It's a strange film, for sure, but strangely
compelling. The anime and CGI mix quite well resulting
in a fairly visually impressive piece of work.
The film is also quite fetishistic in nature,
and you have to wonder sometimes where these animators
get their ideas from! It's not a bad film
by any means, but the it does tend to meander
rather slowly and, as a viewer, I couldn't
quite figure out where the director Keitaro Motonaga
and writer Chiaki J Konaka wanted to take things,
as the story seemed to be a bit muddled and poorly
executed at times. On the whole though, it's
an interesting piece of Japanese entertainment
and worth checking out if you're feeling
a little adventurous. |
| Video |
| The film is presented in 4:3 fullscreen, which
looks to be the correct ratio, especially as the
UK release was a cropped transfer to create a 16x9
presentation, so it's nice to see it here
in its correct OAR. The image is clean and sharp
and free of any print damage. The colours are deep
and vivid with blacks remaining solid throughout.
The only problem I could see, which is a minor complaint,
is that occasionally the contrast levels seemed
a little off. However, this could possibly be the
fault of the source elements. Overall, though, it's
a very pleasing presentation. |
| Audio |
| The disc comes with two audio choices –
DD 2.0 English or DD 2.0 Japanese with subtitles
(which are clear and easy to read). Both tracks
are clear and free from hiss or 'pops',
but the Japanese one has the edge in that it is
more dynamic. There's nothing here to raise
complaint with in the audio department. |
| Extra Features |
Artsmagic once again prove their commitment
to their releases by providing some decent supplementary
features. On this disc you'll find interviews
with the director, Keitarou Motonaga, and the
writer, Chiaki J Konaka. Both provide interesting
insights into the making of the film. This is
followed by a featurette entitled 'Final
Fantasies – A History of CGI Animation'.
This is basically a filmed lecture on the use
of animation and CGI in movies, but is entertaining
and educational nonetheless, and traces the origins
of modern animation right back from its beginning
in 'cell animation'. Well worth a
watch. Also provided is a gallery of 'character
models', some trailers and biographies and
filmographies of those involved in the production
of Malice@Doll.
Overall it's a very nice package from the
folks at Artsmagic, and shows that they really
do have a deep interest in the films that they
release. |
| The Verdict |
| A curious and strange film that certainly won't
appeal to everyone. I rather liked it though, but
I'm not quite sure why. The Artsmagic DVD
is very nice and I doubt the film will look any
better than it does here. Do I recommend it? Well,
it very much depends on your taste in entertainment
– if the wild and wonderful world of Japanese
cinema is your thing, then it's definitely
worth a watch. And even if you just have a passing
interest in Manga and Anime, then you'll also
want to check it out. But I don't think it's
really a film with mass appeal, and it is quite
a bizarre viewing experience, so you'll have
to judge for yourself whether you want to see this
or not. I rather enjoyed it, in a strange kind of
way, so I guess you can take that as a recommendation,
if you will.
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