Avalon (2001)

Director: Mamoru Oshii
Starring: Malgorzata Foremniak, Wladyslaw Kowalski, Jerzy Gudejko, Dariusz Biskupski, Bartek Swiderski

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When I saw a preview of this film on some Manga Company DVD, I was instantly fascinated with the film's visual style. A friend of mine watched it a while ago, however, and told me not to bother. A while later, and I've bothered. I'm very glad I did. This film reminds me in many ways of Oshii's earlier Ghost in the Shell and of a film by Andrei Tarkovsky called Stalker. The similarities between Avalon and Shell are pretty obvious as you watch the movie. Both are action films that feature a dark haired, detached woman as the lead. Both films ruminate on the distinction between a reality and a virtuality: in Shell between cyborg (A.I.) and human and in Avalon between reality and virtual reality. Obviously Oshii is interested in these places that are in-between such as when artificial intelligence develops autonomy and/or emotion or when a game, Avalon, straddles both virtual and reality. I drew comparisons with Stalker also not just because of the similar aesthetics of the two films--they both have a sort of sepia tone during parts--but also the deliberate pacing, the absence of a great deal of dialogue, and the quest for what is essentially the Holy Grail with respect to either film. If you go into Avalon expecting a fast-paced action film, you'll surely be disappointed. If you going into it expecting an Oshii movie (and are a fan of his work), you'll be delighted with what you get.

July 2
computer, late evening

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