Memmories

Original Title: MEMORIES
Romanized: Memories
Literal:

Plot Synopsis

Three separate movies based on short stories written by renowned anime director and manga artist Katsuhiro Otomo (of Akira fame).

Memories episode 1 "Magnetic Rose"

A group of space salvagers answer an SOS call, only to find themselves trapped in a mysterious space ship haunted by images of the life of a former opera diva that begin to draw them in like a magnet.

Memories episode 2 "Stink Bomb"

An employee of a pharmaceutical company has a cold. His fellow employees suggest he tries their new cold medicine sitting in the boss's desk. However, what he mistakenly takes proves to be a new experimental biological weapon. People die and machinery malfunctions at the strange and deadly odour coming from our hapless and helpless hero.

Memories episode 3 "Cannon Fodder"

Imagine a city which has the sole purpose of constantly bombarding its enemies. A city where instead of houses, cannons of all sizes dot the sky line. Where the men work the cannons, the women make the shells, and the children are taught the mechanics of firing the cannons and dream of achieving the ultimate rank of 'The One Who Fires the Cannon'. The movie follows the life of an average family on an average day in this grim city.

Reader Review

Rating: 5 / 5
Reviewer: The M Man
Review Date: 2003-08-18

First off let me start by stating that these movies are not for everyone. If you belong to the guts flying, bombs exploding, instant gratification anime crowd then this production is definitely not for you. If you're the type of anime fan who likes to think after a movie about its meaning then you should definitely go try and watch Memories. Since there are three movies, this review has been split accordingly.

Memories episode 1 "Magnetic Rose"

This little imagery poem is all about reality and illusion. Would you want to live in a perfect world, where there is no sorrow and you are surrounded by your loved ones? Of course you do. But what if this perfect world is nothing but an illusion? That's the question this movie asks. A once famous opera diva who had tragically lost both her lover and her voice builds the mysterious ship holding all her cherished memories and moments, inviting the salvagers to share her illusion. To live in a world where their worries are forgotten and their dead loved ones are brought back to life.

The movie handles the question well and doesn't really give a clear cut answer, leaving the viewers to form their own opinion. The music (composed by the legendary Yoko Kanno of Macross Plus, Escaflowne and Cowboy Bebop) is simply awe inspiring, and is coupled with the movie's amazingly fluid animation to form some of the best sequences ever seen in anime. There's a spoiler ahead by the way... **SPOILER** The last scene in particular was extremely beautiful, where the opera singer performs 'Madame Butterfly' for the last time as the ship starts to disintegrate. Music and animation choreographed to perfection! **END OF SPOILER**

All in all, this was the best of the three movies and will get you thinking a lot long after the rolling credits.

Memories episode 2 "Stink Bomb"

This is the most light hearted of the three movies as can be expected from its absurdly hilarious premise. It does, however, belong to the genre of dark comedy. People die all around our hapless hero, who is so ignorant of what is going on around him you can't but stop and snicker. The upbeat, and very weird but fun, jazzy soundtrack made the contrast between Stink Bomb and the dead serious, orchestral Magnetic Rose even more profound. If you set off to look for hidden meaning or even plain old common sense in this little number, then you'll be sorely disappointed. The light hearted Stink Bomb was meant to be just that. A fun little romp that should crack a smile after the very grim Magnetic Rose.

Not the best of the three, but definitely a very good, and most of all fun, movie.

Memories episode 3 "Cannon Fodder"

The shorter of the three movies (about 30 minutes only) and the weirder, but perhaps the one that will give you the most food for thought. The artwork is purposely ugly, with a strange palette of grays and browns. The whole city has a decayed decrepit look that mirrors the people's spirits, whose only form of revolt is protesting against the use of toxic gunpowder in cannons and demanding the government to use a non toxic one. A very depressing environment I have rarely seen in an anime. This movie's theme is socialism. If everyone had enough to eat, had his position in society secure then they should be happy, right? Then why are the citizen of Cannon City unhappy? What is missing?

If there was ever an anime that could be categorized as 'Definitely not for everyone' then Cannon Fodder should be it. But if you fancy yourself a lover of 'Thinking Man's Anime' and are open minded enough for its strange art, then you should definitely check out Cannon Fodder.

Conclusion

There are few animes out there that could be called thought provoking. Few that could be called works of art. And fewer still are those that achieve both. Memories is such a movie. Technically perfect, and mentally jarring. Highly recommended.

US DVD Review

Columbia Home Video's subtitled-only DVD features the film with English, French, Spanish, or Portuguese subtitles.

Content Guide

A fair amount of violence and some relatively mature themes, but nothing gratuitous; it was appropriately rated PG-13.

Violence: 2 - There's a shocking scene where a little girl dies in Magnetic Rose, and many many deaths in Stink Bomb, but none are particularly gory.

Nudity: 2 - One very brief scene (a picture in fact) in Magnetic Rose.

Sex/Mature Themes: 1 - Magnetic Rose has some romance but nothing too visual.

Language: 1 - A few mild curses here and there, but that's it.

Notes and Trivia

Stink Bomb takes place in Yamanashi prefecture, a relatively rural mountain valley located roughly Southwest of Tokyo. Many of the locations seen are based directly on actual places. [Editorial note from Marc: When I first saw Memories I was in fact in Yamanashi, which was a tad creepy given that I was rather close to a number of the places being devastated.]

Availability

Available in North America from Columbia Home Video on subtitled DVD. The soundtrack CD is also available from Geneon.

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