DESCRIPTION

CAST

MANGA ComedyEiga Daisuki Pompo-san
MUSICMado wo Akete

REVIEWS

• 

  cla1n

  90/100
  90 Minutes Adventure Into Cinematography World

  Spoiler-free Section

  I would like to start by saying that this movie inspired me so much that I decided to write this review. Despite of having a runtime of 1 hour 34 minutes, it was packed with amazing contents and emotions which keep the audience engaged.

  I would like to note that sections below will contain spoiler. For those who want the best experience, I would high recommend those to go watch the movie first before reading further. (It is worth it!)

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  Visual and Choreography

  Before jumping in, I did not do any extensive research on this particular movie and the studio behind it, but I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by how vibrant and how fluid the animation was.

  Some specific frames left a lasting impression on me.

  

  However, these frames alone do not do justice on expressing how well this movie has been animated.

  The contrasty visuals and smooth animation is on par with some of the best animated movies I have seen.

  Characters

  Being a standalone movie, it is challenging to introduce many characters while also leaving sufficient impression to keep the story flowing. Generally I have no complaint on this aspect, but thought some of the labels for main and supporting can be adjusted.

  I have to say that Pompo did not really seem like a main character to me despite being labelled as a main character on the page. Instead, I would argue that Natalie played a more major role, especially in the later parts of the movie.

  Gene Fini was introduced as a somewhat quiet and seemingly incapable character, but we soon learn more about his underlying abilities and passion for cinematography and movies in general. Through Gene's perspective, we were able to see how the story makes sense to the audience.

  Sound

  Not going to analyse all the different aspects of voice acting and soundtracks, but just some things which stood out for me.

  • Natalie's voice acting by Rinka Ootani really stood out for me, I think I expected a more mature and deeper voice initially, but the actual one helped bring out her character more and provided a more youthful and lively image for the character.
  • Excellent ED Mado wo Akete by CIEL

  Story and Sequencing

  Okay, I think this is where this movie truly shines.

  The starting sequences is chaotic, with so many cuts back and forth, which keeps the audience curious on what the movie is trying to tell us. Are these sequences in chronological order? Are these events happening in the past or future? How do these events relate to each other?

  But gradually everything begins fall into place, and we start to really understand the characters, their background stories, all without being explicitly told. I really enjoyed this non-linear flow of events in an anime movie, perhaps I have been watching too many boring ones ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

  Might be a somewhat far fetched analogy, but I thought this relates nicely to some of the best game designs. The best game controls are controls which the players can figure out themselves. And the best story and character development are ones which the audience can piece together themselves without being told explicitly what they are.

  Linking of Gene's movie making experience to Miester's music conducting experience was a nice approach to resolve the creativity struggle. Thought it was good that the movie kept a strong focus on the main plot of the director, Gene, and did not side-track into other aspects like romance, which I think would have weakened the delivery of the plot.

  Overall, the story keeps a good/balanced amount of drama and comedy and makes you want to keep watching.

  Shortcomings

  No review would be complete without any proper critique. I will state the one which jumps to mind. The plot is really quite optimistic, you would need to be really really lucky to go through what Gene and Natalie experienced in your own career. Not impossible, but just not something you can expect to see in your everyday lives.

  Conclusion

  The thing I like the most ... is that it's 90 minutes long.

  Glad to see something this fresh and exciting which also fits within such a short time span. My only regret now is not being able to enjoy this on a big screen in cinemas.

  I will definitely be keeping my eyes out for future works by the same studio (CLAP) and director (Takayuki Hirao).

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• 

  Wing

  60/100
  Pompo: The Cinéphile isn't much of a "love letter to film" but a mantra to an albeit cliched notion—to never give in.

  Spoiler-free review. TL;DR below. *** _Pompo: The Cinéphile_ isn't much of a "love letter to film" but a mantra to an albeit cliched notion—to never give in. > ##__Why Hirao was an excellent fit for this adaptation.__

  Takayuki Hirao returns as a Director and Scriptwriter after a five-year hiatus from direction to produce a coalition of recklessly entertaining storytelling. With CLAP studio's adaptation of the shoujo manga, "Pompo: The Cinéphile," Hirao takes a pompous but quite fitting pace into the film. If you aren't very familiar with the Director, Hirao has worked on the likes of Majokko Shimai no Yoyo to Nene, Manabi Straight!, and is most renowned for his exceptional work on The Garden of Sinners: Paradox Spiral. Facilitating these ventures was mega-giant ufotable, in probably one of their most experimental features, but most notably the total disaster that was God Eater. Much like you'd expect, this took an enormous impact on Hirao's outlook on his directing career and was an unavoidable downfall of his work in the studio.

  Gene is an assistant to Pompo, a small girl who is a major film producer in Nyallywood, a fictional version of Hollywood. She predominantly focuses on b-movies with the only objective of entertaining, receiving an extensive network of contacts, cinematic interests, and film expertise from a well-known producer. She recognizes Gene as a remarkable individual working for her and realizes he has latent potential. Consequently, she chooses to bring it out of him by briefing him about a script she's been working on starring Martin Braddock, a well-known actor who hasn't starred in a film in ten years.

  Much of what I found as a sentiment of Hirao's exposition was the transparent connection between him and Gene. So much of what Gene faces in the film's third act is a weary and harsh reality of overwork and self-destruction. However, in a conclusion of rather fantasy, it endures the same motto of burdensome attempts to impress others. Much like the team that worked on God Eater or really any anime, Hirao takes a great deal of belief in that sense, which augments a degree of genuineness to the film that might've not been there without him.

  > ##__Outstanding production and misgivings.__

  You would presumably await an exceptional production for an albeit film about a film, and it unquestionably does. The cinematography, visual motifs, and the apparent special transitions are employed wonderfully. Hirao's inventive choices are still consistent with his previous works, such as Paranoia Agent's pilot episode. The most anime-esque cuts of Gene quite literally cutting film tape through sequences of sakuga make for the usual wacky enjoyability. It is just as engaging as it is profuse in self-referencing innovativeness. However, these transitions can cultivate to be either hit or miss.

  Correspondingly, Hirao's disordered methodology to the artistic process is an unavoidable presence in the film. While the original work is somewhat satirical about its complacency, Hirao accepts it earnestly. Questioning whether the creative technique is "truly" connected with sacrificing elements of your life, relationships, and even health as an essentially lonely activity. And it looks to be such to him. Gene and his characters' journeys are self-harming—they're well aware of this, as is the film, but neither has the determination to criticize or even mention it as poor. Their perspective is "questioned" but can only present a conflict of its ideas without any sizable conclusion or nuance.

  Now, as gloomy as the film's thematic ramifications might be, Pompo: The Cinéphile is still a refreshing film to see. Hirao being entrusted with a picture that celebrates the artifice of cinema and the power of editing enabled him to release all of his techniques in an unadulterated and passable form. That howbeit may not have been as amazing of a return, was fitting all the same.

  >

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  __TL;DR__

  Pompo: The Cinéphile is just as much a return to Hirao's possible direction of excellence but a means of illustrating his struggles in an exhibition of what makes films genuinely an enjoyable experience through a passion for technicality. It is a refreshing and amusing clutter of naivete of optimism and pessimism—for better or worse, it's candidly a liberation of his sentiment toward film. The duality of Hirao's and Gene's conflict is about proving others wrong, equally as it may be indeterminate to its principles, which may very well sum up Hirao. Nevertheless, I will certainly keep an eye on Hirao's future works, and I hope you do as well. Thank you for reading!

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• 

  moxanthia

  20/100
  A misguided and ironic love letter to film and artists

  Pompo the Cinephile is a film about everything a manic, starry-eyed filmmaker may imagine a film to be while actually being just about none of those things. From the soulless delivery of film techniques and inspirational advice, to the rose colored depiction of damaging aspects of the creative industry, my eyes slowly glazed over watching this ironic tragedy.

  I often say that if a work surrounding an interest or philosophy lacks heart, then I might as well be reading a wiki page. This film is wiki content at its finest, introducing and narrating everything like a documentary, yet even a legitimate documentary would more likely grant greater depth and humanity in its education. The meta filmmaking techniques read out over vaguely related animation could be legitimately useful for an amateur, aspiring filmmaker, and yet I would understand and be intrigued simply reading them on paper. It's almost laughable how much is dryly told to the audience rather than shown. The enthusiasm Gene, the character who serves as director, does show for his craft comes across through dramatic visuals and music, yet bombasticity is not a replacement for real character depth. He carries about a notebook filled with his notes from watching films and being on set, yet the love and dedication never leaves those pages. Instead, again and again we have metaphorical editing scenes of Gene slicing up strips of film with a sword, and a montage of him imagining himself as a character in the story without any explained revelation or meaning to that imagery beyond that he had supposedly found his own style. One short scene of the film does get into a bit of his editing process, and I had hoped to see much more of that. Even then, his decisions lacked any connection to this supposed personal touch he had as a director which Pompo, the producer, believed would make the film great. Here we have yet another bland Shirobako, with the energy of Eizouken, yet none of its passion. It helped a lot that the latter surrounded kids making something all on their own. Here we have a full-blown production, so the sardoodledom of both the movie and its movie within the movie is unfortunate. Especially as the film approached its climax, the campy asspulls continued one after another.

  The film gets caught up in blindly glorifying certain harmful aspects of the industry rather than making any witty criticisms. Even in a man’s world, the women could have been treated a little more seriously rather than only a pretty face for the male gaze. More central to the movie’s message though, is the endorsement of the artist’s necessary sacrifice. Ironically this film feels as if it were a self insert piece, crafted by a cinephile themself, who doesn't know how to apply their knowledge with tact. The entire thing comes across as an artist’s fever dream in how nicely everything goes for this supposed heroic and selfless outcast. I could swear I've already seen this movie before in my daydreams as a child, only able to think in extremes. Especially romantic is the discipline to trim away all else in life for the purpose of channeling everything towards the creation of a masterpiece—that you must live a life of hardship and loneliness to create real beauty in your art. The world is not painted in blacks and whites, and only by experiencing everything in moderation can you find all the colors it has to offer. I can’t bring myself to appreciate a film which encourages those who are isolated and have extreme tendencies to damage themselves further. All that being said, Gene's directing journey paralleling his own work is a nice touch if a tad too campy. Perhaps more focus on how movies helped him understand himself could have saved the film from blatant mistreatment of its subjects.

  I will say though, Pompo (the character) is incredibly based in her opinion on one thing. The shorter a story, the better. Trim away the fluff, and get to the point. A truly great storyteller knows how to use the bare minimum to allow the audience to fill in the gaps with their own imagination. However, the beauty in minimalism is the impressionistic quality. Simple emotions given the time on screen to sink into you can create entire stories in your mind. However, in its execution of these ideas, the film doesn’t give itself the space to breath and instead regurgitates Gene's unpolished notebooks verbatim onto the screen. Rather than even a B movie with a beautiful actress to sell it, we just have an offensive movie and a man with constant bags under his eyes. At least it was an hour and thirty minutes.

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