Ghost in the Shell: Innocence

Being the lazy bum that I am, I have decided not to write a synopsis for this movie. The Internet Movie Database provides such an excellent synopsis, which is like what Lord Henry of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Grey describes of a cigarette, “it is exquisite, and it leaves one unsatisfied. What more can one want?” Therefore, I shall provide a link to Internet Movie Database.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0347246/plotsummary

Ghost in the Shell: Innocence is a stunning must-see animation, which deliberately blurs the border between life and machine through not only its thought-provoking plot, but also through its groundbreaking cell and computer graphics animation. Even the movement of Batou’s dog, a Basset Hound, is so life-like. The full capabilities of Mamoru Oshi and his crew are shown in an elaborate five-minute parade of giant floats and Kim the hacker’s mansion midway through the show. No superlative will be able to capture my awe of their abilities.

The most important aspect of the show, in my humble opinion, is the philosophical debate of the essence of life. From the Psalms to Confucius, the characters frequently invoke ancient wisdom to enhance their discourse of their futuristic life. This film definitely sparks off a storm within our minds, forcing us to think whether our memories and our senses are “real”, and even whether we are real, ironically not just a code of a program or animation. These ideas are reminiscent of Descartes’ hyperbolic doubt, where doubt is the only fact. Thus, the only real form of existence is one who doubts.

Last but not least, although I highly recommend this film, I will also caution all potential viewers that this film is not your typical sci-fi film brimming with heart stopping action sequences. This film can be confusing at times (though not as confusing as Akira, which will be reviewed at a later date), and good subtitling is required to discover the source of the quotes. In spite of all this, this film is definiately a must-see for both otakus and people interested in philosophy

Below are some of the screenshots taken from the film.

The doll. The creepiest object in the world to me. Its torpid eyes obfuscates the same deep consciousness which its physical form mimics. Perhaps this is why René Descartes doted on a doll after his daughter passed away and even named the doll aft his deceased daughter, Francine.

Static doves in a virtual reality signal created by Kim. It is really easy as understand why Togusa got trapped in the virtual maze by the hacker Kim.

A scene in during the five-minute parade in the far north. The entire parade took one year to produce. Notice the influence of Chinese culture has on both the parade and the city.