Mind Game (film)
Encyclopedia
is a 2004 Japanese animated
feature film
based on Robin Nishi's Japanese comic
of the same name. It was planned, produced and primarily animated by Studio 4°C
and adapted and directed
by Masaaki Yuasa
, with chief animation direction
and model sheet
s by Yūichirō Sueyoshi, art direction
by Tōru Hishiyama and groundwork and further animation direction by Masahiko Kubo.
It is unusual among features other than anthology film
s in using a series of disparate visual styles to tell one continuous story. As the director commented in a Japan Times interview, "Instead of telling it serious and straight, I went for a look that was a bit wild and patchy. I think that Japanese animation fans today don't necessarily demand something that's so polished. You can throw different styles at them and they can still usually enjoy it."
While a critical and financial flop in its release in Japan, the film received a cult audience and was well received, winning multiple awards worldwide, and has been praised by directors Satoshi Kon
and Bill Plympton
.
. He has always had a crush on a childhood friend, Myon, but his lack of self confidence and his insecurities stop him from seriously pursuing her, and they drift apart for years. Myon too does not achieve her aspirations as she was a swimming
champion during high school, but eventually she gave up when her breasts became too big. One day, they run into each other on the subway
. They go to her parent's yakitori
restaurant, to see Myon's father and her strikingly different older sister Yan (who runs the restaurant) and to talk about old times. There Nishi also meets Myon's handsomely brawny fiancee, Ryo, who makes a living as a trucker. Observing their interactions while dining, Nishi is forced to admit that Ryo may very well be both a much better man and a much better match for Myon than himself. Two yakuza
then enter the restaurant to collect money that Myon's father owes them. He had debts with the yakuza and left his family dealing with the problems he created, spending his time away from home having fun with young women and gambling
. It is because of his reckless and selfish behavior that his entire family is now placed in danger. Regardless of all that, he does not dare to reveal himself when the situation worsens. The first yakuza is an arrogant soccer player for the Japanese national soccer team who has an anger management
problem; during all the scenes of the film, he wears a number 10 soccer uniform shirt. The second, senior, yakuza's name is never revealed (Atsu only refers to him as aniki - lit. "brother", in Japanese. In this context it is a term used by Yakuza to refer to each other).
It is later revealed through flashbacks much later in the movie that the senior yakuza is actually both the first boyfriend - and current lover - of the girls' estranged mother, from whom she was seduced by her husband at a disco during their youth in the 70s, and to whom she later had an extramarital affair (in retaliation for her husband's own rampant philandering) when they met again when he first came to collect her husband's debts, before ultimately abandoning her family. Neither of the girls nor their father is aware of it though, and it is never mentioned either by the senior yakuza. It is later shown that his lover is waiting at a train station, implying that she plans to go far away somewhere and start a whole new life for herself. In the first timeline of the movie, he decides not to join her (which could explain his depression at the restaurant), but in the second timeline created by a change of events at the end of the movie, it is shown that he decided to go be with her after all.
Atsu soon recognizes the father as the man who seduced and stole his girlfriend from him. He becomes enraged and goes on a berzerk rampage. While the father cowers around the corner, Ryo tries to punch Atsu, but his attack is easily avoided by his opponent, and he gets knocked out by Atsu. When Ryo falls, it is revealed that he is just wearing a mere toupee. Atsu then lecherously eyes Myon, and proceeds to begin raping her when Nishi intervenes ineffectually. Atsu forces Nishi to the floor, and when Nishi warns him that he will pay, Atsu places his pistol against Nishi's anus and accidentally fires it when Nishi suddenly moves.
Nishi dies nearly instantly, and goes to heaven. The senior Yakuza, offended by Atsu's lack of control, shoots him to death and then orders dinner. Meanwhile, Nishi encounters a being watching television whose animation changes every fraction of a second - God
. God reveals to Nishi that there is really no paradise in the afterlife and that because he is now dead, his soul is now destined to spend the rest of eternity in the void of oblivion. Nishi has a nervous breakdown and laments his existence to God, blaming God for giving him a loser's life. God gets angry and thoroughly beats up Nishi for daring to complain to his creator, even as he admits that he did indeed create him (and by extension, all other human beings) simply for his own amusement. Telling Nishi to just resign himself to his inevitable fate, God then turns his back on him and grooms himself, as he is scheduled to go on a date for which he is already running late. Nishi refuses to accept that his time is now up forever and tries to flee back to Earth while God's back is turned. God chases him in the form of a huge leopard, but becomes impressed by Nishi's sheer will to live, and lets him escape with a warning that this is his one and only second chance. This exit sends Nishi and his body back in time to just before Atsu pulls the trigger. This time around, Nishi resolves to live life more fully. He clenches his buttocks, seizes Atsu's gun, and turns the tables by reflexively slaying Atsu instead. He, Yan and Myon all pile into the yakuza's car. In this version, the father of Myon and Yan will be left to deal with his debts to the yakuza himself. While fleeing, they begin a high speed chase with the massed yakuzas, who are controlled by the stereotypical image of a Japanese Yakuza boss: a large man, rich, wearing several rings and gold necklaces, stroking a little pet in a huge business office. He has his men cut the trio off and force them onto a bridge. Nishi refuses to be taken alive, and takes the mobsters on a wild goose chase. Eventually cornered when their reinforcements arrive, he steers the hotrod in a death plunge off the bridge - but they are swallowed up by an enormous whale.
Inside the whale, they meet a strange old man who has been trapped in the whale for decades. He takes them into the elaborate suspended house he has constructed over the 'sea' inside the whale's belly, and teaches them about how to live inside the wall, what recreations are possible, introduces them to his Plesiosaurs sea friends, etc. He also recounts his history as a drug courier; while still a young yakuza, he hid a package of drugs in a child's toy and stored it with his son's toys, but when he retrieved it for the sale, he grabbed the wrong container, which eventually led to his own plunge off a bridge and into the whale's mouth.
It is later revealed through flashbacks much later in the movie that the old man is actually the long-lost father of the senior Yakuza shown earlier, as shown by the identical flashbacks the two have of their tragic past. None of the characters have any awareness of this fact nor learn about it through the course of the movie, and it is not shown in any of the possible futures toward the end of the movie if the old man ever reunited with his son, even after getting out of the whale.
During the symbolic and metaphorical time inside the cetacean (there is a reference to Carlo Collodi
's Pinocchio
), they experience personal development and growth and have to face their problems and insecurities. Nishi learns the craft of writing and drawing humorous manga, he and Myon finally become sexually intimate, and the whole group experiment in art, particularly dance and painting, by doing performance
, etc. In the whale, Yan for example, learns that being the older sister, she had always felt compelled to be the one to take responsibility
in the family and to look after Myon, but really she was the one who wanted to be helped in the first place.
The four castaways are eventually forced to escape from the whale, who is slowly dying after being fatally wounded by whalers. Their flight is followed by a lengthy montage, similar to that of the opening credits, showing some of the many possible futures for each of the four characters. The film returns to its very first scene, with Myon running from the Yakuza, only this time she does not get her leg caught in the door of the train, suggesting yet another possible series of events through the creation of a second timeline with a new future for all the characters. The movie ends ambiguously, with the phrase "This Story Has Never Ended" appearing before the credits roll.
Other crew
Production companies
Other companies
, as well as the score
by Seiichi Yamamoto
includes an image song
by Fayray
and piano
performed by Yōko Kanno
.
and the Animation Division Grand Prize at the Japan Media Arts Festival
in 2004, outranking nominee Howl's Moving Castle
. Outside of Japan, the film had its international premiere at the New York Asian Film Festival
in June 2005but possibly its biggest success at the Fantasia Festival
in Canada
in July 2005, wherein it beat off many live-action
films to win all three of the festival's own jury awards it qualified for – Best Film, Best Director (tying with Gen Sekiguchi
for Survive Style 5+
) and Best Script – and an additional Special Award for "Visual Accomplishment", as well as placing first in the audience award for best Best Animation Film and second, behind Survive Style 5+, for Most Groundbreaking Film. Despite these accolades, as of July 2011 the film's only home video
release in a primarily English-speaking country is a region 4-locked, "PAL
" DVD-Video
released in Australia
by Madman Entertainment
in 2008 (catalogue MMA3985), though the Japanese (region 2, "NTSC
") DVDs have English subtitles for the feature itself.
Reviews
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
based on Robin Nishi's Japanese comic
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
of the same name. It was planned, produced and primarily animated by Studio 4°C
Studio 4°C
is a Japanese animation studio founded by Eiko Tanaka in 1986. The name comes from the temperature at which water is most dense.-History:STUDIO4°C has produced numerous feature films, OVAs, and shorts. Early film titles include; Memories , Spriggan and Princess Arete...
and adapted and directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by Masaaki Yuasa
Masaaki Yuasa
is an anime television and film director, screenwriter, storyboard artist and animator known for his wild free form style. He was born on March 16, 1965 in Fukuoka, Japan...
, with chief animation direction
Animation director
An animation director is the director in charge of all aspects of the animation process during the production of an animated film or animated segment for a live-action film...
and model sheet
Model sheet
In animation, a model sheet, also known as a character board, character sheet, character study or simply a study, is a document used to help standardize the appearance, poses, and gestures of an animated character...
s by Yūichirō Sueyoshi, art direction
Art director
The art director is a person who supervise the creative process of a design.The term 'art director' is a blanket title for a variety of similar job functions in advertising, publishing, film and television, the Internet, and video games....
by Tōru Hishiyama and groundwork and further animation direction by Masahiko Kubo.
It is unusual among features other than anthology film
Anthology film
An anthology film is a feature film consisting of several different short films, often tied together by only a single theme, premise, or brief interlocking event . Sometimes each one is directed by a different director...
s in using a series of disparate visual styles to tell one continuous story. As the director commented in a Japan Times interview, "Instead of telling it serious and straight, I went for a look that was a bit wild and patchy. I think that Japanese animation fans today don't necessarily demand something that's so polished. You can throw different styles at them and they can still usually enjoy it."
While a critical and financial flop in its release in Japan, the film received a cult audience and was well received, winning multiple awards worldwide, and has been praised by directors Satoshi Kon
Satoshi Kon
was a Japanese anime director and manga artist from Kushiro, Hokkaidō and a member of the Japanese Animation Creators Association . He was a graduate of the Graphic Design department of the Musashino Art University. He is sometimes credited as in the credits of Paranoia Agent...
and Bill Plympton
Bill Plympton
William "Bill" Calvin Plympton is an American animator, former cartoonist, director, screenwriter and producer best known for his 1987 Academy Award-nominated animated short Your Face. and his series of shorts Guard Dog, Guide Dog, Hot Dog and Horn Dog.- Biography :Bill Plympton was born in...
.
Synopsis
The first scenes introduce the protagonist, Nishi, who is a young loser dreaming of becoming a comic book artistMangaka
is the Japanese word for a comic artist or cartoonist. Outside of Japan, manga usually refers to a Japanese comic book and mangaka refers to the author of the manga, who is usually Japanese...
. He has always had a crush on a childhood friend, Myon, but his lack of self confidence and his insecurities stop him from seriously pursuing her, and they drift apart for years. Myon too does not achieve her aspirations as she was a swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
champion during high school, but eventually she gave up when her breasts became too big. One day, they run into each other on the subway
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
. They go to her parent's yakitori
Yakitori
, grilled chicken, is commonly a Japanese type of skewered chicken. The term Yakitori can also refer to skewered food in general. Kushiyaki , is a formal term that encompasses both poultry and non-poultry items, skewered and grilled...
restaurant, to see Myon's father and her strikingly different older sister Yan (who runs the restaurant) and to talk about old times. There Nishi also meets Myon's handsomely brawny fiancee, Ryo, who makes a living as a trucker. Observing their interactions while dining, Nishi is forced to admit that Ryo may very well be both a much better man and a much better match for Myon than himself. Two yakuza
Yakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
then enter the restaurant to collect money that Myon's father owes them. He had debts with the yakuza and left his family dealing with the problems he created, spending his time away from home having fun with young women and gambling
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
. It is because of his reckless and selfish behavior that his entire family is now placed in danger. Regardless of all that, he does not dare to reveal himself when the situation worsens. The first yakuza is an arrogant soccer player for the Japanese national soccer team who has an anger management
Anger management
The term anger management commonly refers to a system of psychological therapeutic techniques and exercises by which someone with excessive or uncontrollable anger & aggression can control or reduce the triggers, degrees, and effects of an angered emotional state...
problem; during all the scenes of the film, he wears a number 10 soccer uniform shirt. The second, senior, yakuza's name is never revealed (Atsu only refers to him as aniki - lit. "brother", in Japanese. In this context it is a term used by Yakuza to refer to each other).
It is later revealed through flashbacks much later in the movie that the senior yakuza is actually both the first boyfriend - and current lover - of the girls' estranged mother, from whom she was seduced by her husband at a disco during their youth in the 70s, and to whom she later had an extramarital affair (in retaliation for her husband's own rampant philandering) when they met again when he first came to collect her husband's debts, before ultimately abandoning her family. Neither of the girls nor their father is aware of it though, and it is never mentioned either by the senior yakuza. It is later shown that his lover is waiting at a train station, implying that she plans to go far away somewhere and start a whole new life for herself. In the first timeline of the movie, he decides not to join her (which could explain his depression at the restaurant), but in the second timeline created by a change of events at the end of the movie, it is shown that he decided to go be with her after all.
Atsu soon recognizes the father as the man who seduced and stole his girlfriend from him. He becomes enraged and goes on a berzerk rampage. While the father cowers around the corner, Ryo tries to punch Atsu, but his attack is easily avoided by his opponent, and he gets knocked out by Atsu. When Ryo falls, it is revealed that he is just wearing a mere toupee. Atsu then lecherously eyes Myon, and proceeds to begin raping her when Nishi intervenes ineffectually. Atsu forces Nishi to the floor, and when Nishi warns him that he will pay, Atsu places his pistol against Nishi's anus and accidentally fires it when Nishi suddenly moves.
Nishi dies nearly instantly, and goes to heaven. The senior Yakuza, offended by Atsu's lack of control, shoots him to death and then orders dinner. Meanwhile, Nishi encounters a being watching television whose animation changes every fraction of a second - God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
. God reveals to Nishi that there is really no paradise in the afterlife and that because he is now dead, his soul is now destined to spend the rest of eternity in the void of oblivion. Nishi has a nervous breakdown and laments his existence to God, blaming God for giving him a loser's life. God gets angry and thoroughly beats up Nishi for daring to complain to his creator, even as he admits that he did indeed create him (and by extension, all other human beings) simply for his own amusement. Telling Nishi to just resign himself to his inevitable fate, God then turns his back on him and grooms himself, as he is scheduled to go on a date for which he is already running late. Nishi refuses to accept that his time is now up forever and tries to flee back to Earth while God's back is turned. God chases him in the form of a huge leopard, but becomes impressed by Nishi's sheer will to live, and lets him escape with a warning that this is his one and only second chance. This exit sends Nishi and his body back in time to just before Atsu pulls the trigger. This time around, Nishi resolves to live life more fully. He clenches his buttocks, seizes Atsu's gun, and turns the tables by reflexively slaying Atsu instead. He, Yan and Myon all pile into the yakuza's car. In this version, the father of Myon and Yan will be left to deal with his debts to the yakuza himself. While fleeing, they begin a high speed chase with the massed yakuzas, who are controlled by the stereotypical image of a Japanese Yakuza boss: a large man, rich, wearing several rings and gold necklaces, stroking a little pet in a huge business office. He has his men cut the trio off and force them onto a bridge. Nishi refuses to be taken alive, and takes the mobsters on a wild goose chase. Eventually cornered when their reinforcements arrive, he steers the hotrod in a death plunge off the bridge - but they are swallowed up by an enormous whale.
Inside the whale, they meet a strange old man who has been trapped in the whale for decades. He takes them into the elaborate suspended house he has constructed over the 'sea' inside the whale's belly, and teaches them about how to live inside the wall, what recreations are possible, introduces them to his Plesiosaurs sea friends, etc. He also recounts his history as a drug courier; while still a young yakuza, he hid a package of drugs in a child's toy and stored it with his son's toys, but when he retrieved it for the sale, he grabbed the wrong container, which eventually led to his own plunge off a bridge and into the whale's mouth.
It is later revealed through flashbacks much later in the movie that the old man is actually the long-lost father of the senior Yakuza shown earlier, as shown by the identical flashbacks the two have of their tragic past. None of the characters have any awareness of this fact nor learn about it through the course of the movie, and it is not shown in any of the possible futures toward the end of the movie if the old man ever reunited with his son, even after getting out of the whale.
During the symbolic and metaphorical time inside the cetacean (there is a reference to Carlo Collodi
Carlo Collodi
Carlo Lorenzini , better known by the pen name Carlo Collodi, was an Italian children's writer known for the world-renowned fairy tale novel, The Adventures of Pinocchio.-Biography:...
's Pinocchio
Pinocchio
The Adventures of Pinocchio is a novel for children by Italian author Carlo Collodi, written in Florence. The first half was originally a serial between 1881 and 1883, and then later completed as a book for children in February 1883. It is about the mischievous adventures of Pinocchio , an...
), they experience personal development and growth and have to face their problems and insecurities. Nishi learns the craft of writing and drawing humorous manga, he and Myon finally become sexually intimate, and the whole group experiment in art, particularly dance and painting, by doing performance
Performance
A performance, in performing arts, generally comprises an event in which a performer or group of performers behave in a particular way for another group of people, the audience. Choral music and ballet are examples. Usually the performers participate in rehearsals beforehand. Afterwards audience...
, etc. In the whale, Yan for example, learns that being the older sister, she had always felt compelled to be the one to take responsibility
Moral responsibility
Moral responsibility usually refers to the idea that a person has moral obligations in certain situations. Disobeying moral obligations, then, becomes grounds for justified punishment. Deciding what justifies punishment, if anything, is a principle concern of ethics.People who have moral...
in the family and to look after Myon, but really she was the one who wanted to be helped in the first place.
The four castaways are eventually forced to escape from the whale, who is slowly dying after being fatally wounded by whalers. Their flight is followed by a lengthy montage, similar to that of the opening credits, showing some of the many possible futures for each of the four characters. The film returns to its very first scene, with Myon running from the Yakuza, only this time she does not get her leg caught in the door of the train, suggesting yet another possible series of events through the creation of a second timeline with a new future for all the characters. The movie ends ambiguously, with the phrase "This Story Has Never Ended" appearing before the credits roll.
Credits
Voice cast- Nishi
- Myon
- Old man (jiisan)
- Yan
- Ryō
- Father of Myon and Yan (Myon to Yan no chichi)
- YakuzaYakuza, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
boss (yakuza no bosu) - Atsu
- Yakuza
Other crew
- Kōji MorimotoKoji Morimoto, born December 26, 1959) is an animator and one of Japan’s premier anime directors.- Biography :Born in Wakayama, Japan, he graduated from the Osaka School of Design in 1979 and a couple years later joined the studio Annapuru as an animator for the TV series “Tomorrow's Joe”...
— animation director - Shinichiro WatanabeShinichiro Watanabeis a Japanese anime filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer. He is known for directing the popular anime series Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo.Watanabe is known for blending together multiple genres in his anime creations...
— music producer
Production companies
- Studio 4°CStudio 4°Cis a Japanese animation studio founded by Eiko Tanaka in 1986. The name comes from the temperature at which water is most dense.-History:STUDIO4°C has produced numerous feature films, OVAs, and shorts. Early film titles include; Memories , Spriggan and Princess Arete...
- Asmik Ace EntertainmentAsmik Ace Entertainmentwas formed in 1997 through a merger between the Asmik Corporation and Ace Entertainment, both of Japan. The name Asmik comes from its three founding companies: Ask, Sumitomo and Kodansha. The company is headquartered on the third floor of the Lapiross Roppongi building in Minato, Tokyo.Asmik...
- Beyond C.
- Rentrack Japan Co. Ltd.
Other companies
- GainaxGainaxis a Japanese anime studio famous for productions such as Gunbuster, The Wings of Honneamise, Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, Neon Genesis Evangelion, FLCL and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann which have gone on to critical acclaim and commercial success, as well as for their association with...
– animation - Production I.G – animation
Production
The film's music, produced by Shinichiro WatanabeShinichiro Watanabe
is a Japanese anime filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer. He is known for directing the popular anime series Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo.Watanabe is known for blending together multiple genres in his anime creations...
, as well as the score
Film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
by Seiichi Yamamoto
Seiichi Yamamoto
is a Japanese musician. While perhaps most famous for his role as guitarist for the noise rock band Boredoms, he has released multitudes of records both as a solo artist and with several other musicians and bands, in addition to composing the soundtracks to several films.- Solo projects :* Suido...
includes an image song
Image song
An image song or character song is a song on a tie-in single or album for an anime, game or dorama that is usually sung by the seiyū or actor of a character, in character...
by Fayray
Fayray
Fayray is a female Japanese singer-songwriter and former actress. She made her debut in July 1998 with the single "Taiyō no Gravity". She grew up in the United States and speaks English.-Biography:...
and piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
performed by Yōko Kanno
Yoko Kanno
is a composer, arranger and musician best known for her work on the soundtracks for many games, anime films, TV series, live-action movies, and advertisements...
.
Reception
The film's accolades include the Ōfuji Noburō Award at the 2005 Mainichi Film AwardsMainichi Film Awards
The Mainichi Film Awards are a series of annual film awards, sponsored by Mainichi Shinbun , one of the largest newspaper companies in Japan, since 1946.-Animation awards:...
and the Animation Division Grand Prize at the Japan Media Arts Festival
Japan Media Arts Festival
The Japan Media Arts Festival is an annual festival held by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs since 1997. The festival for a nominal year was usually held during February or March next year, rather than at the end of the nominal year. For instance, the 2010 Japan Media Arts Festival, where...
in 2004, outranking nominee Howl's Moving Castle
Howl's Moving Castle (film)
is a 2004 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli and based on the novel of the same name by Diana Wynne Jones...
. Outside of Japan, the film had its international premiere at the New York Asian Film Festival
New York Asian Film Festival
The New York Asian Film Festival was first held in 2002, growing out of the previous year's New York Korean Film Festival...
in June 2005but possibly its biggest success at the Fantasia Festival
Fantasia Festival
Fantasia International Film Festival is a genre film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996...
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in July 2005, wherein it beat off many live-action
Live action
In filmmaking, video production, and other media, the term live action refers to cinematography, videography not produced using animation...
films to win all three of the festival's own jury awards it qualified for – Best Film, Best Director (tying with Gen Sekiguchi
Gen Sekiguchi
Gen Sekiguchi is a Japanese film director.He has directed Bus Panic!!! , Worst Contact and directed and edited Survive Style 5+ , starring Tadanobu Asano, Reika Hashimoto, and Vinnie Jones. He also directed a number of music videos for the band Supercar. He is known for his use of vibrant colours...
for Survive Style 5+
Survive Style 5+
Survive Style 5+ is a 2004 Japanese film directed by Gen Sekiguchi. It stars Tadanobu Asano, Kyōko Koizumi, Reika Hashimoto, Jai West, Sonny Chiba and Vinnie Jones.-Synopsis:...
) and Best Script – and an additional Special Award for "Visual Accomplishment", as well as placing first in the audience award for best Best Animation Film and second, behind Survive Style 5+, for Most Groundbreaking Film. Despite these accolades, as of July 2011 the film's only home video
Home video
Home video is a blanket term used for pre-recorded media that is either sold or rented/hired for home cinema entertainment. The term originates from the VHS/Betamax era but has carried over into current optical disc formats like DVD and Blu-ray Disc and, to a lesser extent, into methods of digital...
release in a primarily English-speaking country is a region 4-locked, "PAL
PAL
PAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is an analogue television colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in many countries. Other common analogue television systems are NTSC and SECAM. This page primarily discusses the PAL colour encoding system...
" DVD-Video
DVD-Video
DVD-Video is a consumer video format used to store digital video on DVD discs, and is currently the dominant consumer video format in Asia, North America, Europe, and Australia. Discs using the DVD-Video specification require a DVD drive and a MPEG-2 decoder...
released in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
by Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment is an Australian company that distributes international films as well as Japanese anime and manga in Australia and New Zealand. The company is owned by Funtastic Limited and is one of the major entertainment companies in Australia. It employs 130 people and has an annual...
in 2008 (catalogue MMA3985), though the Japanese (region 2, "NTSC
NTSC
NTSC, named for the National Television System Committee, is the analog television system that is used in most of North America, most of South America , Burma, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and some Pacific island nations and territories .Most countries using the NTSC standard, as...
") DVDs have English subtitles for the feature itself.
External links
- Mind Game at the 2005 New York Asian Film Festival
- http://www.pelleas.net/aniTOP/index.php?cat=15
- Newtype interview http://www.mindgame.jp/special/interview_p1.html http://www.mindgame.jp/special/column_p1.html
Reviews
- http://www.efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=12530
- http://siufung1981.spaces.live.com/Blog/cns!1pEVujhvTXidB6AAXPmFkktw!366.entry http://web.archive.org/web/20060218224305/http://web.choq.fm/article.php?id=1884
- http://twitchfilm.net/archives/002668.html
- http://twitchfilm.net/archives/002486.html
- http://www.montrealmirror.com/2005/070705/film1.html
- http://www.kfccinema.com/features/interviews/tanaka_mindgame/tanaka_mindgame.html
- "Buy local produce" -(Japan Times)