21 January 2019

IMHO. 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' ~ there is literally nothing good in the beginning, no good end and nothing good in the middle, and still the show is soooo good

First of all, I now believe it's the best kind of manifestation of destiny - just when I started watching the 1st season, being sure there is nothing more, it turns out there is more and that more has just been aired. And though I got a little bored by the end of the 1st season, being already acquainted with the story thanks to the 2004 full-length movie, with season 2 interest came back to me.
It's probably not the best or the right way to judge an artwork, but this is the way I do. It's only then worth reading or watching when it leaves me with a sad aftertaste of wanting to be submerged in that atmosphere longer and regretting that that beautiful world will open its secrets to me no more.
I saw many people asking whether the 'Series' is for children or for adults and what its target audience would be. And though I understand it's an adventure about and for teenagers, it reminds of important things.
To sum it up, what was the main problem and the main conflict? Young children who couldn't rely on anyone but themselves, because the adults, who were supposed to offer them protection, offered something completely different. And the biggest disaster is not that they tried to burn the children at stake or were ready to push them into a pit with lions, or that some of them refused to help, but that they did it completely abandoning their brains. In fact, every episode is about how they rely on public opinion, rely on ludicrous codes of laws
rely on machines and artificial intellect
rely on certificates and credentials, instead of relying on common sense.
The problem is that the adults didn't listen.
I was perfectly sure that the acting was awful until to my surprise I realised that's the way this show is done! Throw a stone in me if something absurd is not necessary in our world to let us reevaluate what's absurd in the first place - and all this in an absolutely beautiful and dark and dirty Art Deco setting, with perfectly fitting music.
At some points I was wondering if this story has not been written in and about Russia...
And I swear, this series made me remember that villains can be charismatic.
 Strange, but I loved every number and every absurd scene.
In 'The End' Daniel Handler (I say Handler because obviously the series follow the books very closely) suddenly got sentimental and made an attempt to make Olaf pitiable and explain his villainy through wrongs done to him, and make him do one last good act, but I'm not sure if I wouldn't like that Olaf be more of a ruthless absolutely immoral character. Still, these series are just too realistic and even cruel to let me have my way with anything. After all, among supporting characters most brave people who were really trying to help as much as they could, met their end sooner or later, and the only ones who survived were cowards and losers who did not push the matters through or were half-hearted.
Is there any way to conquer that rigidness of mind that makes people rely on something instead of making sound decisions? The author's answer is - education. I couldn't agree more. In addition to many other things I've thought over while watching, I remembered that I'm stagnating, too..... think I'll go learn something new now.

06 January 2019

IMHO. 'Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell' ~ lost hope

Having just recently read an article by Henry Lion Oldie about the art of understatement and leaving things unsaid, and having agreed with the fact that a reader must not demand full clearness from the author where he does not really intend to be fully clear but instead intends that the reader has some thought himself, I really shouldn't be complaining about the world of 'Strange and Norrell' not being described in full, the actions of the characters not being explained in full, the events taking place being bereft of meaning and the ending being so entirely open.
Still, I don't really think I am too demanding when I expect some narrative logic in a book or a movie or a TV series.
'Strange and Norrell' presents brilliant actors portraying interesting characters in a wonderful historic setting with an intriguing start of the story. There was something Pickwickian in Mr Norrell constantly worrying about consequences and his loyal but just and down-to-earth servant Childermass, rash and passionate Strange and odious Drawlight. There was something Rowling-ish in the legends of the Raven King and spells with mirrors and water. I daresay there even was something Shakespearean in the world of the sly fairy. But in the end, it was Susanna Clarke's tired and boring. I saw it everywhere. She had been writing the book for ten years they say, apparently there was no strength left in her, and no will and/or time in her editors to make the story coherent. The scattered episodes were glued together as they were, with hardly any intermediary, leaving me constantly wondering why this or that event took place. Something bad happens, and they do nothing about it. Then something worse happens and they still do nothing. And what's the worst, it ended in nothing particular, and not because it was the author's intention, but because she could no longer keep writing. Or so I hear. I would, I really would gladly put up with the open ending, but all these small irrelevant things make no sense to me.
But then, they make sense for each respective character. I can totally understand why Norrell kept silent. I can totally understand why Strange struggled on his own. I can totally understand that Childermass wanted to know the truth in order to follow his conscience, and I can understand the fears of the government, the greed of Lascelles and the despair of Stephen.
The problem is, they keep on minding their own business and it's not until the last minutes of the last episode that they finally start interacting with each other.
Surely I'm not too demanding when I expect that interaction sooner, the coherence higher, when I expect the English humour and English irony after so many people commented on having seen those things, and when I expect a story about magic being magical. However, it turned out to be even more realistic than any realistic historical movie - with the promised sharp wit never appearing, it's about how different people behave according to their beliefs and interests, but in the end, what a pity, even though I can totally understand each of them, I find no one to admire.

05 January 2019

IMHO. 'Sol Bianca' ~ memories of the distant future

I have just read an article in a Russian Web-magazine dedicated to fantasy and sci-fi, explaining the reasons why humanity stopped dreaming about the bright future of mankind in the universe. Oh yes, modern science and technologies have become a great source of new types of crime, so people are too busy finding the modern perpetrators to dream about other planets. Even the good guys shifted their focus to the needs of ordinary people, creating solar batteries, e-commerce websites and just more powerful processors for your new model of smartphone. I wouldn't be writing this post on my recently acquired tablet if they didn't, so it's not that I'm completely ungrateful to them. It's just that I will be writing one more post about how grass was greener 20 years ago in the world of anime, so just in case - I warned you.
You know, I cried watching sad stories with characters sacrificing themselves, like 'Wolf's rain', I cried watching touching stories with people struggling to be happy together, like 'Sunset on the fifth avenue', but I don't remember many other cases I cried because of the beauty of what was happening on the screen and because I would give so much to experience something like that.
I literally cried the whole series of 'Sol Bianca' even though this must be the fourth time I watch it.
I first took time to watch the older ova series of 1990, and was very impressed and at the same time disappointed that the story did not move on while it had such potential. Just when some secrets are about to be explained, the series come to an end... And it's not to be developed in the re-made version of 2000. Even with this understatement, I enjoyed the usual pace of the good old sci-fi - some energetic rock in the beginning, some slow rock as the ending, and a lot of variations on a synthesiser in the middle. Great!
The next day, I start watching 'Sol Bianca the legacy'. And start crying immediately.
As usual, it begins as your average adventure, only it takes place in space.
Is it a western, like the opening hints?
Or a road-movie?
Is it space battles?
Sci-fi?
Anti-utopia?
Or a slice-of-life about several middle-aged single ladies trying to find their way of living their lives?
Just as you might have guessed, I meant to say it is all of this. And then it starts to develop into a human drama. I remember myself complaining that 12 episodes of this or that anime were not enough to show the true nature of just as many as 4 main characters, but here you are - only 6 episodes manage to tell everything about the 4 women-pirates, a lonely girl who becomes their new comrade, 4 different people who become their enemies, and at least 3 characters who become their allies - and in some cases something more than that.
And the same 6 episodes manage to tell several stories describing the universe that 'Sol Bianca' moves in.
And the ship itself. Have you ever seen a space ship with microchips designed as tulips and program interface decorated in art-nouveau?
Even if the idea of representing the on-board computer as an AI with a kind of personality or at least ability to communicate is not new, have you ever seen it represented as a girl in a Greek robe just out of Alphonse Mucha's poster? Shooting an arrow from a giant bow?
And the idea of the AI represented as something close to a magical creature was very new, at least to me, when the anime was first aired, believe me.
Have you ever heard anything more fitting a shining space vessel than the 'Sol Bianca' intro theme?
But well, at the same time I just miss the times when strong anime heroines meant really strong heroines, not your cute wide-eyed pretty girls who don't give up, but strong physically, and deft, and artful, clever, having real knowledge of their respective trade, and attractive, yes, sexy-and-they-know it.
With just a bit of fanservice, no more than a little.
And with those 90s big-shouldered and wide-sleeved jackets...
And human, yes. With past haunting them, with psychological problems maybe even, yes, but so alive.
That's probably why some men found themselves under their heels, and others - followed them to death.
And so perfectly voiced. All of them.