Royal Space Force - Wings of Honneamise

Rating:
Summary: "Wings of Honneamise" a Ponderous Anime Classic
Review: Prior to watching "Royal Space Force: Wings of Honneamise", I avoided reading most of the reviews posted here at Amazon.com so that my initial viewing of the film would not be influenced by the opinions of others. I have been meaning to watch "Wings" for many years now, and considering the notable hype and deep appreciation voiced by so many, all the praise that has filtered my way, I wanted to see how the movie would stand up against my own standards of what a "great" anime is. So, sufficient to say, I curled up on the couch with my husband last night and pressed the "PLAY" button on our DVD player--and here is my personal appraisal of the film:

The Animation: Not two minutes into "Wings", my husband (who is really not an anime fan, but watches all my new acquisitions with me with sweet tolerance and a certain subdued interest) was already expressing his amazement at the intricate detail of the artwork and animation. Truly, this depth of painstaking care taken to bring even the smallest aspect of Honneamise to life permeated every frame of the film, to the very last scene, with a richness and "old school" realism that outlines the fault of today's top-selling anime productions faltering over-dependently on their CGI-enhanced crutches.

The Soundtrack: Overseen by the legendary Ryuichi Sakamoto, the music accentuating this film was at times too obvious in its attempts to be "alien"--it was just too different--yet it was more than appropriate somehow for such an unknown world in such an unknown galaxy. Perhaps that sounds contradictory; however, Mr. Sakamoto accomplished the impossible by taking Earthly instruments and transforming them into imagined ones. The notes and structure of the music was a bit distracting, yes, but very well composed and performed. Not a soundtrack I would ever buy to clean dishes to, but a definite must for such a visually-spectacular film.

The Story Synopsis and Characters: Honneamise is a kingdom rife with economic and social issues and all manner of dissatisfied political activists, and it remains without unity despite the constant threat of war from a neighboring nation. Previous attempts to send a man into space have always met with failure, but young soldier Shiro Lhadatt (who has always dreamt of being a pilot but is truly as mediocre and dismissable as anyone else) steps up to the plate for Honneamise's most recent endeavor. This, despite the myriad odds against him, due to the sudden influence of one young woman, an unassuming proselyte named Riquinni, who sparks in him a faith and hope that there is more meaning to life than the violent factions around them--and Shiro comes to believe that perhaps his destiny might be found in the stars.

The relationship between the two is odd to say the least: aside from the fact that they seem worlds apart in terms of personalities, Shiro is a typical, selfish young man, and he wants what most young men want from their girlfriends--but Riqui is a moral woman, an earnest proclaimer of judgment and salvation, and she isn't about to give up her purity just because a pair of wandering eyes wishes her to. Thus the unexpected and disturbing scene where, one night, Shiro attempts to rape her (this is where the NUDITY warning on the back cover comes into play: Riqui's dignity is destroyed when Shiro attacks and mounts her, and she struggles half-naked with him for a long, distasteful moment before finally beaning him with a candlestick holder). It is a scene without any sexual stimulation or beauty--it is merely real and ugly sexual violence, and it is a very uncomfortable scene to watch. Yet, much to my dismay, soon after comes the perplexing and offensive conversation of *Riqui* attempting to apologize to *Shiro* about the incident. (If this has any significance, Shiro in the film seemed just as startled by that as was my husband and myself.) I have no idea why the writers made Riqui do that--I can kind of understand her forgiving him (although not quite that quickly), but APOLOGIZING? It was something of a slap in the face from my personal point of view and, considering there was no apparent necessity for such amoral content in the movie (nothing learned from the violence, nothing expounded upon, etc.), the sake of human dignity and moral clarification demand that I remove at least one approving star for my review of the film.

But all that aside, Shiro continues to train for his pilot's wings and begins drawing Honneamise together as an unexpected role-model: the first astronaut to fly into space. Problems with the rocket itself are ironed out even as political unrest in the capital mounts daily in aggression and fervor. Shiro himself is attacked and there is another realistic scene of graphic violence where he stabs his assailant in self-defense. Yet despite all of this interference, the launch-day comes, and amidst a backdrop of international war, Honneamise's rocket breaks through the atmosphere with Shiro in the pilot's seat--and Shiro realizes the Great Truth of what Riqui has been trying to teach him all this time.

"Wings of Honneamise" ends profoundly and with a distinct message of warning to all those viewers who are willing to sit through a feature that is so true-to-life that it is decidedly unpleasant: There is strong language, sexual violence, and bloodshed in "Wings". There is political and religious commentary woven throughout every frame, every sentence. It is a mature, adult film and certainly not one to show to the kiddies. A great flaw in my eyes (aside from the entirely unnecessary rape scene) was the audio dub in English--the characters seem very two-dimensional; but even had we watched the film in Japanese, I believe my husband and I would have found Shiro and Riqui to be incomprehensible and wooden in certain instances. (The story of Honneamise is almost too large for expressive character development, its political issues too grand for the emotion of the individuals peopling it to truly reach out and touch the viewer.) Nevertheless, the general motivation and angst of the film and its issues, coupled with the lavishness of its world and its design, left us both with the decided impression of an animated masterpiece.


Rating:
Summary: Not for everyone, but still beautiful
Review: A fellow Beatles fan and I say this about Abbey Road, one of the band's final albums: it wouldn't matter what cuts came before so long as the album ended with the classic song cycle Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight / The End. Those pieces alone suffice to make it one of their very best, most fulfilling works.

I have a similar feeling with Wings of Honneamise. The end of this movie is one of the most touching and perfect moments in all of the cinema I have experienced, alone propelling it among my favorites. Unless I'm in a particularly cynical mood it will elicit tears every time, and I'm not an especially emotional kind of guy. This is not to say that the rest of the movie is not worth seeing...as with Abbey Road, there is a lot to like in Wings. But if you're like me, that ending will keep you coming back time and time again.

The most obvious strengths of Wings are its animation and soundtrack, both of which are immediately appreciable as superior. What is not as easy to get into is the story's languid, at times disjointed pace. Doubtless many would find it just plain boring, which is not far from my initial reaction. But give it time, and you'll discover the many nuances of style and the appeal of the characters. Wings is a fully-realized work of art, an engagingly-creative mirror on human nature. It is not a popcorn movie you can just pop in and enjoy, although there are some well-done action sequences towards the end. Instead it's a mood movie, something to absorb and relax to. Indeed, more than any movie I have ever seen, it's a movie to make you think. Along with the stellar ending, this trait has made it one of the most-played movies in my collection. If this sort of thing sounds appealing to you, then I highly recommend Wings.