Country:
Japan
Recognizable Faces:
None
Directed By:
Mamoru Oshii
In college, I minored in cinema studies. It's an art form where nationality is very distinct. A German movie doesn't look anything like a French movie and they both look nothing like American movies. I always had a weak spot for Asian movies, especially Japanese. They have the wildest creative types to direct movies over there and they don't bother with anything but to tell a killer story. In animation films, as everybody was charmed by the mass appeal and the cute-factor of Hayao Miyazaki, creator of PORCO ROSSO, PRINCESS MONONOKE and SPIRITED AWAY, I always was more attracted tot he darker, more adult storytellers. Satoshi Kon and especially Mamoru Oshii, renowned for his screen adaptation of cyberpunk manga GHOST IN THE SHELL. My favorite Oshii movies though are the two PATLABOR feature length adaptation of the successful television series about cops in giant robots. It's a science-fiction/mystery crossover with a hypertrophied IQ.
For those who are unfamiliar with the setting, in an alternate Tokyo, giant robots called Labors have been created for many purposes from construction to military usage. The police has its Labor section called Special Vehicles Unit. Captain Goto is your cool-under-fire, rational, Hemingwayesque hero, in charge of SVU 2. Under his wing he has a courageous team of policeman: the smart and dedicated Asuma, the sensitive but brave Noa, the psychopathic Ota, the computer whizz-kid Shige...well you see the genre. No need to introduce everybody. What you need to understand before even viewing the movie is that Captain Goto isn't exactly your typical company-man. He will tell you "Sir, yes sir" to your face, but he will run his investigation under his sleeve, pull people on the side when nobody notices, etc. He's very efficient at what he does. He also loves his job very much. That's why he's the Captain and that's also why he will never have another promotion in his life. He's an amazing character.
PATLABOR starts with the suicide of computer programming genius Eichi Hoba, jumping from The Ark, Shinohara Industries' top-of-the-line Labor building factory. Hoba is the designer of a new software for Labors called Hyper Operating System, which seems to be responsible for Labors running amok and destroying everything in their path. At the time of Hoba's suicide, the army had to destroy one of the Labors they were using, only to find out its cockpit was empty after the fact. Worried for the safety of his team that's been testing the hOS (that's how they refer to Hyper Operating System often), Captain Goto starts his own investigation on the side. It's a very delicate matter, because the Japanese government has invested a lot of money in Shinohara Industries and into the Babilon project (spearheaded by the hOS invention). No one wants to listen to him, the field tests with the hOS keep giving perfect results and yet Labors keep running amok without any apparent reasons, at random times.
This baby has been so tightly plotted, it's not even funny. You see only a glimpse of Eichi Hoba's face, as he grimly smiles and dives into the bay, yet he's haunting the film. His plan has no weak points and as the Special Vehicles Unit 2 is uncovering it with the help of police detective Matsui, they discover who he was. A tormented genius who let his actions speak for his great dissatisfaction with mankind and progress. Really, the plot is a thing of beauty, but PATLABOR requires your COMPLETE ATTENTION because it's easy to miss the details and get confused. I have watched it a few times now and I am still gaining a better understanding of all the intricacies. There is a lot of giant robots fighting each others, but this is a deceitfully intellectual movie. It could hold up really well to a novelization.
On an aesthetic level, this is somewhat conventional, but it's a good thing since it bears so much narrative weight. Since it's so old (almost twenty-five years old...damnit, I'm not getting younger), you can appreciate the drawings and the artists behind them. It looks a little clunky, compared to your Pixar movies, but it has a craftsmanship appeal and its technical limitations never get in the way of the story. Funny thing, every Mamoru Oshii movies have what I call the Mamoru-Oshii-scene where nobody talks, music is playing and characters explore the city. In PATLABOR, those are the Detective Matsui scene, which are almost expandable (really, all he does is to flesh out Hoba's character), but they are cool scenes. A trademark of Oshii, if you will. PATLABOR is a smart, terrific story, presented with a typically Japanese craftsmanship and minutiae. One of my favorite animation movies.
SCORE: 88%
