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"Visually stunning, even if not a candidate for the Pulitzer Prize. Fans of novel animation should definitely give it a look." --from the review ------------- Sidebar :: -------------
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Kaena: The Prophecy
Click picture to order this DVD A Techtite ReviewAs Always, a review of The Film and The DVD (extras)! The Film: What can be sadder than a film that was released in the US on June 25th, 2004, only to get released to DVD September 7th? Here we have a film so pitifully promoted, I would not have even known of its existence if not for a blurb at Amazon.com, offering it as a dual purchase with a different movie I was searching for. Yet this film, in the end, was more than worth my time to see it. In fact; I bought it! All this begs the question: why the lack of publicity? This film certainly deserved as much ballyhoo as Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within ever got, to say nothing of NBC's computer animated sitcom cliché, Father of the Pride. Yet out of of a mere 27 critics surveyed by Rotten Tomatoes who even bothered to review Kaena: The Prophecy, one singular critic liked it. Well...make that two critics, because I liked it too. Mind you; this opinion is coming from a critic who realizes that any intelligent shelf of good movies is multi-tiered. There are good comedies, good dramas, good action movies, and yes, good stories. Yet with all the advancements we make in motion pictures, few people respect the art of making something visually stunning. How stunning, then, is the concept of a computer animated feature film, imported from France? Among all the computer-animated kiddie fare comes a story without talking toys nor fluffy animals. Instead, Kaena is about an alien world of pure imagination. Visually speaking, this is a film worth, well..."seeing." How can I best describe these visuals? Well, imagine a computer animated version of The Dark Crystal, with a taste of H.R. Giger, with the unique flair of a European cartoon. The resulting visuals are as if a computer graphics workstation was taken over by The Twilight Zone. Consider this story's location: a thin spire of gigantic vines known as the "Apex," which has grown for over a millennia, within the gravity wake of two neighboring planets. Over this millennia, two tribes of aliens have thrived in this Apex, not knowing that their world is in fact barely balancing between two planets, in mid-air. Sure, it's a piece of pure science fantasy, but let's be fair; the premise is very imaginative. Not that the story is as imaginative as the world it's placed in. Within the "Apex" you see, are two races: a group of almost completely liquefied aliens, and the band of humanoid primitives who worship them as false gods. The primitives think that the liquid aliens control everything around them, and therefore provide them food and water, even at risk of starvation themselves. The truth is: these aliens are not in control of anything. Yet false hopes in this falsely created religion has taken over their village, even at the risk of the village's eminent extinction. One lone villager, Kaena, wishes to explore beyond the village, and see what is out there...really. The bad news is: what her world turns out to be, in truth, is dying. The good news: Kaena is the woman of "prophecy," who can save her people forevermore. What did other critics dislike about this film, really? Well for one thing there's how Kaena is computer-animated with the perspectives of a European animation team. She's buxom, she wears her native clothes as an afterthought, and in one dream sequence is even completely nude. Yet that's the sort of cavalier attitude about nudity overseas, so I had no problems with it, especially when one of my most guilty pleasures in animated feature films happens to be Heavy Metal. Such a voluptuous lead heroine may irk some viewers, who still perceive animation as being "just for kids." This opinion is erroneously driven home by the choice of the voice actress for Kaena stateside, Kirsten Dunst. Seriously; who was it who felt that the best voice of a native girl from outer space was the cheerleader from Bring it On...? Those who want to hate this film because of its take-no-prisoners visual approach; be my guest. I'm personally taken aback by the first decent attempt at an original fantasy story, since Jim Henson's Labyrinth. Fans of Dark Crystal or Labyrinth should certainly give this film a look. It may have a few plot holes here and there, but that's immaterial. This is a visually stunning film at its core, and to that extent, the film succeeds.
The DVD: Here's the one DVD omission that drags this film squarely into marginal-thumbs-up territory: no French language option! What doofus thought that we slack-jawed yokels here in them thar States, would not want to see a film in its original, untarnished French edition? This is just the sort of thing that makes a DVD of Triplets of Belleville a must-buy, with this, to some, a must-rent. I'm just saying. Not that the DVD doesn't --possibly by sheer accident-- offer a small glimpse of the original French version. A "virtual interview" of Kaena is actually a voice interview of the original French actress who voiced her overseas, with an animated version of Kaena, acting like "she" is the one being interviewed. In addition, there's a 14 minute featurette behind the scenes, with the whole French animation team. It's spoken in the team's French language, and English dubbed, making it both accessible and untarnished at the same time. It's also a cool little featurette. Sadly, aside from a few "please buy these too" DVD import trailers, that's about it. This is a shame, though let's be fair: the film did very poorly stateside. Theatrically released June 25th, only to be released on DVD September 7th; this isn't good. The film is visually stunning however, almost begging a critic to say, indeed...this film is worth a look.
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