Parumu no Ki (2002)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Takashi Nakamura

Writer:

Takashi Nakamura (writer)

Release Date:

16 March 2002 (Japan)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Drama | Fantasy | Romance | Sci-Fi

Plot Keywords:

Anime

Cast

Akiko Hiramatsu	...	Palme
Megumi Toyoguchi	...	Popo
Daisuke Sakaguchi	...	Shatta
Yurika Hino	...	Koram
Kappei Yamaguchi	...	Roualt
Motomu Kiyokawa	...	Fou
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Rikako Aikawa	...	Barron
Christine M. Auten	...	Soma (Female) (voice: English version)
Chris Ayres	...	Sawadust (voice: English version)
Jessica Boone	...	Popo (voice: English version)
David Born	...	Hota (voice: English version)
Luci Christian	...	Darumaya (voice: English version)
Mike Coleman	...	Roualt (voice: English version) (as Michael Coleman)
Tyler Galindo	...	Hat (voice: English version)
Tiffany Grant	...	Pu (voice: English version)
John Gremillion	...	Soma (Male) (voice: English version)
Chris Hawley	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Jay Hickman	...	Jamji (voice: English version)
Nomad Kaerf	...	Scruffy (voice: English version) (as Nomed Kaerf)
Mika Kanai	...	Poo
Etsuko Kozakura	...	Moo
Mike MacRae	...	Crickle, Gandel (voice: English version)
Kelly Manison	...	Woman Guerilla (voice: English version)
Andy McAvin	...	Fou (voice: English version)
Nancy Novotny	...	Juggler (voice: English version)
Chris Patton	...	Shatta (voice: English version)
Monica Rial	...	Mu (voice: English version)
Don Rush	...	Baron (voice: English version) (as Donaldo)
Allison L. Sumrall	...	Koram (voice: English version) (as Allison Sumrall)
John Swasey	...	Gus, Zakuro (voice: English version)
Jon Talia	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Mike Vance	...	Baku (voice: English version)
Kira Vincent-Davis	...	Palme (voice: English version)
Mike Yantosca	...	Pirate (voice: English version)
Mari Yokô	...	Daruyama (voice: Japanese version)

Also Known As:

A Tree of Palme (Europe: English title) (Berlin film festival title)

Runtime:

130 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:M (DVD rating) | Australia:PG

Company:

DENTSU Music And Entertainment

Virtually Perfect

I simply cannot understand how so many people can dislike "A Tree of Palme". Allow me to explain.

For one, people complain that the pacing is too slow. Get over it. Some films happen to have slow pacing, and the pacing in "A Tree of Palme" served the plot excellently and with good taste. I can't imagine "A Tree of Palme" being any better with faster pacing; the pacing allowed it to have a "slice of life" feel, while at the same time immersing you in an alien world and a worthy, action-packed adventure.

Furthermore, I hardly think the plot is convoluted as so many suggest. I had no trouble following any aspect of the story. I'll admit that there are many anime films out there with plots that run circles around my head, but this wasn't one of them. It all made perfect sense to me -- symbolism and all. Perhaps I'm either insane or smarter than most. I don't know. All I know was that I truly enjoyed the plot and had no issues with it.

I also very much liked all the characters. That's a rare pleasure I get from movies these days, especially given my extremely jaded nature. With a combination of good writing, great cinematography, and great music, I was able to feel everything the characters felt; when they were happy, so was I; when they were sad, so too did sadness well up from within me. Only the best films can achieve such a goal (should it even *be* a goal, given most of today's trash films).

And then there is the pure artistry in virtually every shot of the film. My god, "A Tree of Palme" is beautiful -- an artistic triumph in every sense. Immersion is practically guaranteed. And the CG? Perfectly integrated. Absolutely perfect. I never felt as if I was looking at CG -- the gorgeous cinematography and haunting music saw to that. It also helped that the modern, intricate CG was sparingly used, unlike so many of today's films. The CG was as CG *should* be.

In the end, "A Tree of Palme" is an amazing film and simply doesn't deserve the terrible wrap so many people levy upon it. It reminds me so much of the early days of film, when special effects weren't everything and pacing was much slower. If you're a fan of film, you owe it to yourself to see "A Tree of Palme".