Avalon (2001) User Reviews

hard but worth the effort

[symbolt · 7/10 · 29 September 2006]

Avalon can be seen as part of a trilogy, the first installment of which would be Ghost in the Shell, the last, Ghost in the Shell: Innocence. Avalon contains many direct references to Ghost in the Shell, and shares a lot of its motif of philosophical search for the self. They also share the cyberpunk imagery, and the fact that the main heroine is an impassive female warrior. I mention all this because I think it's inadvisable to watch Avalon if you haven't watched Ghost in the Shell (and pondered on it a bit). Avalon can be extremely heavy at times. This movie does not make you think; watching Avalon is like trying to decipher a zen poem, which I think can be done, but not through intellectual decoding.

In Avalon, a lone hunter in a virtual reality game shares her life with a basset dog, and all her activities seem to be centered around getting better in the illegal, dangerous game and getting food the dog with the money she earns there. The game is illegal because you can die playing it; "really" die in the concrete, bleak urban world that Ash, the main hero, lives every day. However, apart from the possibility of virtual death, the game offers a secret - the highest level, Avalon. The legendary Avalon is the "Isle of the Blessed", where King Arthur lies in eternal sleep. In the movie, it is a mystery, which haunts Ash ever since the deaths of her last player team.

The search for Avalon is depicted in the most beautiful cinematography. The plot is very symbolic and should be considered so; the search for the gate to Avalon can mean many things, and the nature of the quest changes as Ash is getting closer. However, like Ghost in the Shell: Innocence, the movie is heavy and long, and the characters engage in philosophical discussion every time they can. With all its beautiful cinematography, interesting acting (very automaton-like, but intentionally so), and a set of intriguing philosophical questions, this movie suffers from heavy-handed imagery and symbols, sometimes. Hard science fiction pushes the science as far as possible; Avalon is an example of hard cyberpunk, where the confines of the conceptual world dreamed up by the director are explored fully and unremittingly.

If you are ready to take a film not as only entertainment, but also a challenge to your thinking power, Avalon, like all Oshii's movies, is a thrill. However, beautiful, intellectually rewarding science fiction does not have to be longish and heavy, as Avalon is at times. Watch Ghost in the Shell before it, watch Ghost in the Shell: Innocence after it, and approach this movie at your most relaxed, for it to be a rewarding rewarding experience; it can wear you down, otherwise.

One more thing: if you're Polish, watch the Japanese dub with English subtitles. The Polish lines were translated literally from the Japanese, and they are very often almost gibberish (and the Japanese voice-acting is better, too). Also, do not let the fact that the movie's virtual world seems to be set in your local K-mart detract from your watching experience.

Nice pictures, bad acting

[mwielgosz · 5/10 · 29 January 2002]

Ok, I saw many superb comments on this movie - but all of them came from people who don't know polish language. I suppose that when you don't understand what the characters are talking about, the impression is much much better. I know polish language and I know these actors. Most of them usually act in polish soap operas - and their acting in Avalon is as bad as in TV. From the other hand - the pictures are simply great. Cooperation between polish cameraman and japanese manga director is superb in this movie. Filmed in city of Wroclaw ("dark part") and Warsaw ("Avalon"), the movie shows two sides of Poland (indirectly, of course ;)).

Summarizing - if you don't speak polish you should watch the movie, this strange language will make it even more fascinating. If you actually do, then watch this specific pearl : japanese sf movie with polish cast and english subtitles :)

For me it's 5 but for non-polish speaking audience - 7.

A good film for our time, of our time

[shusei · 7/10 · 16 February 2004]

I have seen this film in 2001,when it was released in Japan. Then I was rather disappointed. The plot seemed to be weak, the drama-- boring. But I changed my thought recently after having seen it again on DVD. It isn't so boring, It is a film for our time, when traditional cinema is dying or dead everywhere. It is a historical process,going not only in cinema. In fact "Avalon" tells about the background of contemporary visual medias--all our visual experiences by them is now digitalized and we can't discern clearly where the Reality begins to be replaced by digital VR space. Now VR very deeply intrudes into our life. It makes our life something empty. Now cinema depends on 3DCG and special effects even in the most usual scenes--fog on the night garden, the landscape outside the window, the color of actors' skin or even movements of their eyes... But only a few directors makes films "about it".

Of course "Avalon" is not about cinema. Oshii had already made one film about cinema years before("Talking Head"), which is comical and grotesque but not so good. After that Oshii learned to disguise himself--use seemingly "commercial", "simple" stories or genres to tell things which is going on in the world. In this way he could keep making films with growing budget, with growing visual complexity, which is beyond the reach of other Japanese "art house"filmmakers. I had seen almost all the works of Mamoru Oshii,including his TV serials of 1970s. He is a skilled, unique director and his thought is recently going too far from usual audience, including lovers of old art house films. But his method--skillful use of commercial conditions--allows him to make films. It is a right way, when there is no other choice. From this point of view, "Avalon" is a good film for our time and of our time, though I can't use the word "masterpiece".

Where Does The Heart Freeze Sooner? or: A Cybercar Named Desire

[schogger13 · 14 January 2003]

There is an interesting parallel between The Matrix and Avalon. The first is heavily based on Manga/Animee style, in visual dynamics much more than in pace as well as storytelling, the latter IS an Animee movie without the animations - in fact, Avalon is a VERY typical Oshii film in every other aspect going.

It's slow. It has to be. It either bores you stiff or chains you to a subtle, incredibly intense way of visual storytelling - takes you back to a time when the attention span as well as the will required to catch a drift - to hold a thought and work on it - lived longer than a few seconds.

On the surface, this movie is what one could call a cyberpunk poem. For that alone it already claims a unique position amongst whatever one might want to compare it to at first glance. A chillingly dark and detailed as well as beautifully crafted ballad of a heroine seeking much more than sense between realities and illusions. She seeks the home we all desperately try to cling to in belief for lack of knowledge.

As always in Oshii's movies, one has to be prepared to be drawn into the unsettling realm between suffocating rules of conduct and complete uncertainty to get at the tiny grain of hope hovering so painfully close to the wheels that try to grind you.

The dialogue doesn't tell us much. In fact, the more wordy the explanations get, the more they deflect us from what we see and feel. That's pretty much what Ash has to cope with as well to find the way to HER reality as well as illusion.

To call the acting understated, slow and painfully introverted would be an understatement in itself. To call it bad for that would be the most idiotic conclusion. Malgorzata Foremniak (Ash) is a true discovery. The intensity and sheer impact she can give to 'silence' alone makes her the ideal Oshii actress. There is no empty move, no hollow gesture, no shallow expression in her entire performance. Quite an accomplishment if one keeps in mind that Ash leads a depressingly empty, hollow as well as shallow life on the surface.

It's an equally depressing fact that this incredible Polish actress will stay in obscurity as far as the billion dollar mainstream movie world is concerned.

The cinematography and lighting by Grzegorz Kedzierski is nothing short of exquisite. So is Barbara Novak's production design. Budget-wise, this is a B-Movie, but they all turned that restriction into a virtue.

One last praise has to go to the composer as well as the musicians. The title track 'Avalon' alone, a grand piece for orchestra, choir and soprano, is nothing short of a masterpiece.

As I said, this movie is a poem. Take a quiet place, wind down from the hassle of your day and let yourself sink into illusions which might even show the occasional glint of YOUR reality.

* 10 out of 10

Schogger13

I Must Have Been Tired...

[dromasca · 6/10 · 25 May 2002]

I must have been tired the time when I saw this film on our local cable TV channel. It had all the premises for me to like - new science fiction stuff, beautiful cinematography, great acting by the Polish team. However, the combination of the action game thriller with poetic science fiction (a la 2001 or Solaris) did not work for me. I could not follow the logic, the final was totally un-convincing and did not explain too much of what I had seen previously. If I have a chance to see it again, I will give it another chance. Maybe it was me after all, but maybe not...

Brilliant, but not for everyone

[Onderhond · 10/10 · 8 March 2003]

* Director

Oshii Mamuro. Known for his slow pace, attention to detail, quite complicated storylines and his moodsetting. Always works together with Kenji Kawai (sound) and Ito (story). Other movies include Ghost In The Shell, Patlabor 1/2/OAV/Minipato, Urutsei Yatsura:Beautiful Dreamer. Also contributed to Jin-Roh and Blood. All these are worth a peek, especially if you like Avalon. Strange little fact : Oshii's a total dog freak. Watch his movies carefully.

* Story

Well, I can be short here. Set in an alternative present/future, a girl (Ash) sets out to find a hidden level in a VR-game (Avalon). It may be a bit thin, but a good setup for the main theme of the movie. Besides that, Oshii's movies were never all that story-based to begin with, as he pays a lot more attention to general moodsetting of his alternate realities. Oh, and for those who claim it's too confusing, try to focus a bit. After two viewings, most of it can be understood (minus a few little details). One warning though. The pace is as slow as ever. Oshii is one to leave you a lot of time to think about certain things that happen. Some like this, most of you probably won't.

* Acting

Kinda hard to judge, as the movie was made in Poland, with Polish actors. Personally, I find the acting adequate. No oscar nominations here, but good work from the leading actress and the guy that plays Murphy. It all depends on what you like. To me the charm came from the exotic language, some will probably find this a turn-off. The conversation is minimal and not so important. It's just there to deliver the facts, not to explain emotions. Comments about the coldness of Ash have nothing to do with bad acting, but with the character she plays (another one of Oshii's trademarks).

* Characters

Typical Oshii. A cold female in the leading role. The only time she shows emotion is when she's in the vicinity of her dog / dogs in general. Besides that, she's an ice cube. Personally, I like 'em like that. The others are interesting because of their little quirks and oddities, not because of their background stories, emotional struggles or deeper motives. All in all, they're a memorable bunch, but only there because you can't make a movie without characters.

* Themes

Every Oshii movie has it's own theme. Beautiful Dreamer was about the boundary between dream and reality, Patlabor 1 about the relationship between mankind and machinery and Patlabor 2 about war in general. Avalon tries to question the boundary between reality and virtual reality, using the first-person game genre as an ideal setup. Which world is real, which isn't, does it actually matter and is there a way to find out what's real and what isn't. Oshii poses all these questions, but doesn't deliver any answers. Which, in my humble opinion, is the best way to handle it. When a movie does try to give you an answer (Existenz), it doesn't stimulate the viewer to think about it afterwards. So, it all depends on what you're looking for. You want some questions to think about, this is your movie, you want a quick story with cheesy moral (Existenz again), avoid.

* Special effects

Again, the opinions here are diverse. I think it's one of the most visually impressive movies I've ever seen. Everything looks absolutely gorgeous, especially when you compare the original shots with the result. But allow me to stretch the term SFX a bit. This isn't The Matrix with twirly, flashy, in-your-face SFX. Instead, the first hour or so is completely reworked with a superb sepia-colored filter, which gives the movie a 1940 postcard kinda look. Besides that, the SFX are a lot more subtle. Those which are in-your-face (like the rendered vehicles) are done nicely. I especially liked the Citadel, and although the rendering is not perfect, the designs are marvelous.

* Music

Oshii regular Kenji Kawai made all the songs for this film. Oshii's one of the last to realize the effect a good soundtrack has on a movie. And I don't mean finding some pop idols and putting them on a CD, but really incorporating the songs in your movie for extra effect, and even working the other way around, by adjusting the images to the sound. All the songs were written for Avalon and vary from ambient to something close to opera. Even if you don't like the movie or haven't seen it yet, the soundtrack should be part of your CD/MP3 collection.

* General Moodsetting

Well, this is what makes the movie one of the best there is. It requires a special kind of taste to like it though. The characters' reality is a bleak and cold one, with little room for emotions, yet portrayed in such a way that it still feels kind of warm and cosy. It's hard to explain but I believe it's best compared with the darker side of romance. The feeling you get when you're sitting in front of your window, it's raining outside and your girlfriend just left you. It's a sort of gentle comforting sadness. He atteigns this through the music, the sepia filter, slow pace and briliant camera swoops/positions. One of the fears I had before I saw the movie, was that he wouldn't be able to capture this mood in a live action (he normally makes animated movies, which all have a certain style of their own to begin with), but he did a magnificent job. Very unique and stylish.

* Overall

I would like to say this movie has no similarities with The Matrix or Existenz whatsoever. People who expect a movie like the afore mentioned will be disappointed. This is 100% Oshii. It's a bit difficult to recommend to people who don't know him and his way of working. My advise is, try to watch Ghost In The Shell first. It has an easier job holding your attention (if you like animation that is), but is still representative for his other work. Personally, I think this ranks among the five best movies ever. It's refreshing, it's unique and made with passion. Hollywood fans beware, others, try it out.

liked it but not sure I got it

[kay-30 · 7/10 · 10 February 2001]

I just saw this film on the first day of its opening. I went in not knowing much about it except that it's a Japanese SF film and had good reviews. To cut to the point, I liked it but I'm not sure I got it.

The atmosphere's great - the monotone visualizations, the expressionless stares of the heroine, Ash and the majestic and dark music stay in your mind. The fact that the film's in a foreign language (Polish as I found out) adds to the exotic and surreal feeling of the film. As it's all supposed to be a game anyway, there's very little emotion shown and therefore viewers are truly spectators only with little empathy with the characters.

Many people will be bored by this film, but if you're prepared to be a little patient and get sucked in, you'll love the look, feel and sound of it.

Not so beautiful

[gwozdziu · 4/10 · 5 May 2002]

OK, maybe it's because I'm actually Polish, so I understand the language and have actually seen the places shown in the movie. But anyway, I can't really find anything to defend Avalon. Horrible, horrible, horrible acting kept distracting me all the time. It's a good thing they don't speak much in the movie, and I'm not even going to mention that Ash'es face looks exactly the same no matter what she's doing. Oh well, I just did. It's probably better for people who don't understand the language, maybe it sounds foreign and sophisticated, and people believe that it's the translation that makes dialogue sound shallow. Trust me, translation is actually helping most of the time.

Stunning visuals? I'm not so sure. For me the visuals were actually pretty artificial, with that annoying postcard-type sky. Also, having to watch the same scenes over and over again was pretty tiring as well. Would it hurt so much to shoot at some other locations as well? I liked the urban shots, but after some time I really, really wanted to see something new.

The story is pretty thin, almost to the point of non-existence. We don't find out anything about the "basic" reality, why exactly Ash wants to go to Special A, and so on. I think those who think this movie was sophisticated have simply created their own story, themselves. I mean, it's one thing if a movie makes you think, another if you have to write the story yourself to make any sense of what's happening on the screen. Avalon's story is so generic that you can give it pretty much any meaning, background and motivation you want. Maybe that's what people like in this movie. For me watching it was a rather painful experience at times (did I mention bad acting?). It's not your average Hollywood movie, but it doesn't make it a good one. An interesting experience, but still, I wouldn't necessarily want to repeat it.

Eyes that do not see...

[SupaChupacabra · 10/10 · 28 November 2004]

I think many of the complaints about this movie are by those that overlook one of the most obvious statements of the movie... that day to day life is boring & tedious, (walking hallways, taking lonely boring train rides, feeding your dog, watching an annoying person eat) all the while the visual world (read spiritual, artistic, visionary, higher level, etc.) is breath-taking. None of the characters of this world are privy to the visual poetry we are being exposed to as viewers... and that is part of the point, they are blind to it... yet it's a reminder that technological obsessiveness, or material obsessiveness, blinds everyone from simple visual beauty. The lighting alone in the movie was incredibly inventive, variations of sepia tones that went from red to green to blue during the course of the movie... overall the lighting and photography in the movie was amazing. You could take any given frame of this film and have a very beautiful photograph. There is a lot of CGI work in this movie that many nay-sayers called "low budget" and didn't even notice. Watch at the very end of the movie how the ghost's mouth wavers, almost like the Mona Lisa, from sad half-frown into a smirk, and this was done in post. I'm sure many people missed very subtle and beautiful touches like this on first viewing. If someone were to critique it for lack of complexity, I would agree... Blade Runner was not "deep" in the same way... but both, upon multiple viewings, remain almost timelessly poignant while being very reflective of when they were made, and I'm sure in 10 years this movie will seem as striking, as Blade Runner is to me now over 20 years since it's release. This will be one to watch over and over again every 6 months.

One caveat... the Miramax version is rubbish. The translations are horrible and stupid. Literally you lose half the meaning of the film. At one point Ashe is talking to the Gamemaster discussing Avalon (the mythic island) and discussing Odin and the helmet of forgetting... right as she puts the VR helmet on. In the Miramax version... the Gamemaster just says "be careful it's dangerous in there"... etc. Not even close, it's like they didn't bother even attempting a real translation, pathetic.

oxydated and fuzzy

[cma75 · 7/10 · 31 March 2002]

Avalon combines ideas from previous movies only to deteriorate them, to oxydate them, to corrugate them to a point where this movie has become a reminiscence, and where this melancholy has become a central subject, aptly conveyed by cold blooded postwar Poles. It's scary.

Bad, boring, beeee

[omsdiver · 1/10 · 28 February 2003]

To bo honest I did not manage to go through entire movie but first half an hour was such a struggle. I can't find anything good about that movie to say. If it is gonna be a computer game I would noy play that. If it is gonna be a movie it is too artificial. Poor shooting, poor sound and deplorable, artificial and schematic dialogs. No less no more - waste of time and general stagnation.

Beautifully filmed and captivating,

[mstomaso · 8/10 · 6 June 2005]

This is a stunningly visual film which takes many of the best elements of the minor sub-genre of 1980s and 1990s sci-fi involving virtual reality, and blends them into an interesting story exploring social withdrawal, addiction, the nature of reality, and the value of life. The film does have a bit of new wave pretentiousness to it - using cliché hacker-names for the players of Avalon, etc, but no more so than many of its competitors (and a bit less than The Matrix). If this sort of thing doesn't appeal to you - and especially if you're the type who wants a film to simply entertain and tell you a simple story, don't bother to read any further.

The film uses a story-telling technique common in good literature but unfortunately under-used in film - that of intentional ambiguity. The best example of this is the main character - well played by Malgorzata Foremniak. You simply don't know what to make of "Ash". Though I found it easy to relate to this character, and I think I understand her, I am not sure most viewers will. In my opinion, Ash is best interpreted as a person with an iron-clad grip on reality, who nevertheless maintains a distance from the people around her, and prefers to keep her relationships "in-game". This is not at all an uncommon personality type, especially among women and mature males in the real worlds of virtual reality and on-line gaming.

The film focuses on Ash's ambitions to become the best player of Avalon - an ultra-real and sometimes deadly virtual reality game - in the world. Avalon is illegal and run on LANs which are set up in what looks like futuristic crack houses. To become recognized as the best, Ash has to complete a level which tends to put anybody who enters it into a catatonic state. She comes to believe that an old team mate of hers - Murphy - inhabits that zone, and wants to rescue him. But of course the designers of the game have other plans, and maybe Murphy himself does as well. Foremniak does a great job of playing this ambiguous yet sympathetic character. Ash, the carefully developed script, the excellent soundtrack, and the superb and beautiful visual effects, all keep you guessing until the very end. I never knew what to expect from this film, and I was very pleased by the way it developed its own concepts of logic and justice - remaining centered on Ash throughout.

Avalon was interesting enough for a second and perhaps a third viewing. I will update my review (if needed) after my next round with it. For now, I will only give it a very high recommendation to anybody who has read this far. After all, if you've read this far in the review, you're probably interested enough in the film to see it.

Japan and Poland, unlikely but interesting bed fellows in live action

[jeanxmurphy · 7/10 · 24 April 2006]

I had seen Avalon before I found out that the director also directed Ghost in the Shell. It certainly was a big departure from anime, but still holding a distinct Japanese style. Oshii, the director is also a huge Polish cinema fan, so it must have been a dream come true to film there.

This film certainly comes across, in a respectful and accurate way about, Poland and also boasting some top notch Polish acting. It reminded me somewhat of Dark City in places, the dark shades and 1940 style architecture, a film noir style live action film, if you like. I found the plot intriguing and while I'm not much into shoot em ups, I felt that this film was finished with so much style, characterization and mood that it is impossible not to like.

Have I seen a different movie ? This film is a HUGE disappointment!

[Pedro-37 · 4/10 · 14 January 2002]

The visuals are amazing (they resemble Lars von Trier's "The Element of Crime"), the effects are seamlessly integrated and the production design is top notch. And I loved the music too. But please don't think I liked the movie - I was terribly disappointed. I admire "Ghost in the Shell" as much as the next guy, but here, director Oshii screwed up. It is a perfect example of style over substance because the substance is not existent. No, it's not "eXistenZ", no it's not "The Matrix". Virtual reality doesn't guarantee a good or clever movie if there's no story. "Avalon" has no story. It tries to lure the viewer to believe that there is one by adding fake symbolism, orchestral music and great imagery, but no, there is no story! There's only techno talk. I don't understand Polish so perhaps the translator was incompetent - but this dialogue is no better than "Battlefield Earth"'s. Just because it's foreign doesn't make it good! And it's not just the dialogue. Check out that opera: The text is ridiculous!!! "Heroes, mist, fruit gardens"? Yeah right!

And how Oshii uses the opera is the funniest thing in the movie: The film creeps along for the first 30 minutes. Aki walks, Aki eats, Aki walks, Aki feeds the dog, Aki walks. Ok, boring. But then, Oshii REPEATS all this when the opera is first heard. You'd expect a flashback to emphasize something important, something interesting. But no: walking, eating, feeding all over again. Perhaps it's a Zen-thing.

I wanted to love this movie, but visuals and effects aside, it left me bored. I cannot understand how some people defend everything that comes from outside Hollywood just because it's different. Yes, this is different from your average Hollywood-fare - but that doesn't make it better.

Rating: 4/10

Otherworldy and Beautiful, but not for all.

[Katatonia · 17 December 2003]

Avalon is a beautiful movie, but not for everyone. If you mainly like action or fast-paced movies you may be turned off by some of the slow scenes during the movie. Avalon has action though, and explosions galore. Some of the story is a little ridiculous and hard to follow, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing at all.

This is the only film I know of that was a co-production of both Japan and Poland. Directed by Mamoru Oshii, but filmed mostly in Poland and in the native Polish language.

While watching this movie you get a feeling of a very unique quality. It was filmed (or altered in post) to resemble an old Sepia toned film, but still with the high-resolution of today's film standard. This adds a very bleak and depressive visual style to much of the movie. That's a good thing, because this is not a happy movie in the least.

Avalon relies heavily on CGI throughout the movie, due to the "cyber game world" that the movie is largely dealing with. Much of the CGI effects are quite interesting to watch. You can often tell they are CGI effects, but it's obvious that it's a computer dominating world with players inside it.

Another effective element to the film was the excellent music score by Kenji Kawai. This has to be one of the most beautiful and engaging film scores I've heard in a long time. It ranges through many different forms, even to the operatic. Very layered and complex, yet easy on the ears. Recorded with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, tons of people played the various musical instruments in the recording of the score, according to the end credits. I would compare it in a sense to Christopher Young's otherworldly and haunting score for the first two Hellraiser films. It's a shame that the soundtrack to Avalon is currently only available as an expensive import CD.

Even if you dislike the film, you must watch it once just for the amazing music...it really is that good.

Beautiful but shallow and slow...

[bithok · 7/10 · 4 February 2003]

This could have been an incredibly good movie but (and *not* because of the lack of action scenes) it remains some eye/ear candy : The story itself is boring and lacks a good plot. It ends like a Fastbinder movie : i.e. it doesn't really end. The music is excellent, so are the visual effects but, hey ! something is missing. That's it.

Strengths & weaknesses of a pretty good film

[Hinosan417 · 8/10 · 20 November 2005]

There is a lot to recommend this movie, including a richly-stylized world, exciting action, and excellent music. I will admit that I was first interested in this movie because I knew of the director Mamoru Oshii from the anime "Ghost in the Shell", so I wasn't surprised to find that the movie felt much like a very stylized high-quality anime movie. Indeed, I wasn't surprised that the Japanese director revealed (in an interview included with the DVD I watched) that his relationship with the Polish actress playing the main character Ash was much like his relationship with a character from one of his anime projects, since he could no more communicate personally with Malgorzata Foremniak than he could with one of his anime characters. To him, the actress was entirely her character, and it's intriguing to see what became of that very unusual relationship on film.

I'm always wary of getting carried away with a first reaction to a film, so I should admit that this film isn't perfect. I found myself wanting to know more about the background of the main character, and her family, and how she came to become the person we see in the film; certainly, Malgorzata Foremniak does a very good job of playing a character whose fantasy life (the life of her online RPG character) is more real than her 'real' life, but the lack of background detail makes her character Ash very much like a two-dimensional anime character, and that can be considered a weakness. Also, this movie bears an obvious similarity to "The Matrix" (which predated it), so most viewers will inevitably compare this movie to "The Matrix" and find it perhaps wanting in that it doesn't lay out the background of the virtual world of the Avalon RPG as clearly as "The Matrix" lays out the background of its world.

These factors notwithstanding, I still enjoyed "Avalon" and I recommend it to anyone with more than a passing interest in virtual reality stories, anime, or highly-stylized science fiction in general. In the aforementioned interview, the director mentions that his films tend to deal with a borderline between fantasy and reality, and it's quite apparent that Ash's 'real world' is somehow both grittier, and less real, than the world of the Avalon RPG which she's so obsessed with. The action sequences in the film (featuring real-world equipment from the Polish army, such as tanks and attack helicopters) are exciting in their own right, but the special effects of the film (such as explosions reduced to 2-D images and bystanders who disintegrate when shot) make it clear what is supposedly real and what is supposedly virtual. Also, the contrast between fantasy and reality is much more vivid here than in the Matrix movies - and that's especially apparent toward the end of the movie where the viewer is left to wonder just what (if anything) is ultimately real, and what is simply imagined. Also, I must say that the music of this film is extraordinary, including choral music that is downright eerie, but also beautiful at the same time. A world both real and unreal is conjured very effectively in this movie, and therefore I would recommend it to any fans of this sub-genre of science fiction in particular, and fans of highly-stylized film-making in general.

death

[cthulhulurks · 6/10 · 24 May 2007]

Avalon, the film. I finally found the true merit of this one. For the first time a film shows how tragic is escapism, or rather what leads to it: an empty real life that offers nothing neither for the body, nor for the soul. In the world's dominating post-protestant culture the man is reduced to a primitive form of life. Those who cannot put up with the circumstances and life setup/behaviour models are offered virtual reality. Drugs? Alcohol? These people may be too smart or civilised to destroy themselves in such a primitive manner. They use escapism – the film carefully portrays the final agony of the death of a human forced to renounce her real life. Kenji Kawai's soundtrack is really the key to see this in Avalon.

Sleeper....

[julie-1 · 3/10 · 1 October 2002]

It made me sleepy. The constant repetition of everything (scenes, music, scenarios) made me very tired. So tired in fact, that I fell asleep through most of the middle of the film. The only point of the film that I truely appreciated was the opera, and that was ruined towards the end by bad editing during the opera house scenes.

A brilliant piece of work

[clcook2000 · 9/10 · 14 March 2006]

I notice on the rating chart that the younger a person is, the higher this film gets rated. Well, I'm 53 years old and I'm giving it a 9 because it's brilliant. Maybe most "older" people simply aren't intellectually equipped to understand this film's blending of sci-fi, virtual reality, classical mythic archetypes, and terrific film work. Too bad. And I suppose the movie poses a challenge to most Americans with their aversion (provincial fear) of subtitles.

In any case, this is a Japanese production filmed and set in Poland, using Polish actors. And it is strangely wonderful in all respects: story, theme, characters, style, cinematography. It explores a virtual reality, William Gibson sort of story and theme. The protagonist is a young woman named Ash (Malgorzata Foremniak) who dons a headset and plays virtual reality games. And we, the viewers, go inside the games with her. What is real? What is virtual?

The director uses special film stock to get dream-like tones and visuals that will knock you out. In that respect, the images often remind me of early B&W American films. Lovely.

Very good, but flawed

[Tom-2128 · 7/10 · 13 September 2006]

Lot's of comments compare this movie to "The Matrix" but they don't point out the obvious difference: the plot of "Avalon" is the reverse of "The Matrix". In "The Matrix", the main character starts out in the game (the Matrix) and moves to the real world. In "Avalon", the main character (Ash) goes in the opposite direction.

Another interesting point is that the philosophy of "Avalon" is the opposite of that of "The Matrix". In "The Matrix", living in reality is presented as the highest value, worth sacrificing comfort and security. In "Avalon", the point is that the real isn't morally superior to the artificial: choosing the artificial (i.e. virtual reality) is presented as a perfectly reasonable choice.

There is a dispute about whether the first part of the movie is boring or just depicting a boring character. It's both. The problem is that the director apparently didn't realize that showing a boring life doesn't have to be boring. He could have used techniques such as showing a dull sequence, then referring to it briefly several times. "Groundhog Day" used that technique.

A common complaint in many comments is that Ash is emotionless and her real world is bland, boring, and (almost literally) colorless. That is crucial to the movie: it has to make the point that Ash's life outside the game is meaningless.

I like the fact that the movie combines Dungeons and Dragons, video games, and Multi User Dungeons, and it handles each of them accurately.

We can summarize the point of the movie as: the artificial world we create can be better than the world we live in.

What did I just watch?

[keith_lawler · 1/10 · 9 May 2004]

This movie is awful, it is achingly slow and makes diddly for sense. I fast forwarded through half of this movie, and I only missed hearing the awful theme song about three times. The movie only makes sense in the last 5 minutes and every development is still a stretch further into the land of nonsensical plot.

Do not see this movie until you are ready to be bored to tears by the extended shots of hallways. The best part of it was the dvd special feature where the director made reference to a movie called "This Island Earth" of MST3K the Movie fame.

Avalon - True magic, a masterful work of art

[twj61 · 10/10 · 8 February 2006]

Mamoru Oshii's "Avalon" is one of the best movies I've ever seen. It's on par with "Blade Runner". This movie is truly ground-breaking cinema. The photography is fantastic. Tremendous thought went into the coloring of scenes - shading, lighting, and angles. Absolutely breathtaking! From heart-pounding moments of shock to quiet corners of solitude, this movie carries your soul to the furthest reaches of human experience. The sound track is marvelous, stunning, thrilling. The choral and orchestral contributions are refined and balanced, easily lifting you to climaxes expression, then drawing you to glide to imperceptible moments of lull. A work of art that will send shivers down your spine, warm your heart and fill your mind with deep thoughts. I will continue to watch this movie over and over again for the rest of my life. Way ahead of it's time. It is so unusual to find such a perfect combination of plot, special effects, orchestral arrangement, acting and inspirational settings. The depth of theory that underlies this philosophical tome of cinematography filled my soul with wonderment throughout each moment of this triumphant film. This movie is destined to be a classic in the annals of movie making! If there was a god, he has undoubtedly gently drawn breath through the artists who collaborated on this project. A masterwork of untouchable excellence!

Style over substance, but worth a look

[cableaddict · 7/10 · 18 November 2005]

It's really hard to rate this one, as there is so much that is really great and so much that is really bad. I consider this a must-see, but bring a book to read at the same time. To be fair, I saw the version with English dubbing, and the v-o "talent" sound like they have overdosed on lithium. The original might be a little bit better.

Breakdown:

THE GOOD:

Unique and extraordinary special effects. The film is a must-see for this reason alone. (unfortunately, this comprises about 1/50 of the total screen- time)

Fairly unique basic storyline. I'm not a huge Sci-Fi aficionado, and most films in this genre bore me, but I found this one fascinating.

THE BAD:

Lousy screenplay Un-inspired English dubbing Leading actress with less personality than Keannu Reeves. Leading actress with very little sex appeal.

Many EXTREMELY boring sequences, many of which could have been cut in half with no loss to the storyline. At 40 minutes into the film, I was reaching for the channel-changer. Boring beyond belief. Luckily, there was absolutely nothing else on, so I got to see the magnificent action scenes that come later. (followed by more unbelievably boring sequences.

I gave it a "7' simply because of the incredible cgi work. Otherwise, I'd give it a "2." The F/X supervisor should win many awards. The director should never be allowed to work again.

You Should be Entertained by Boredom

[gennyt84 · 1/10 · 22 July 2014]

As someone who is a gamer, a computer and sci-fi enthusiast, I found this to be a pretentious long winded bore. Hang on, I'll tell you why! First, the visuals. The blurry, heavily bloomed and contrasted, sepia toned imagery that dominated the film just didn't work for me. While it masked the room temperature cg elements, I found that it just made the film look muddy and I was unable to get pulled into this world.

Then there is the story. The theme of "What's real?" isn't something new and I don't consider it a high end effort when I find myself strained to watch a dull woman in a bad wig stone face her way through pointless, repetitive and drawn out scenes, one after the other. I suppose the abstract, disjointed writing mixed with the director credits can allow for people to interpret depth and sophistication but for me it just didn't feel cohesive and worthwhile but rather like drug enhanced, self important, hipster produced script. I waited to be intrigued, I waited to be invested, I waited for the shots to amount to some kind of message that justified the running time and for just something, anything to actually happen. No dice! Blank and stoic leads may work easily in stylized animation but is terribly difficult in live action and Ash failed hard. Sorry, I don't think the goose laid a golden egg this time around.

I will say though, the orchestral piece in the conclusion was simply awesome.