Review of Mind Game (2004) by Ie ? — 20 Mar 2007

Sometimes an artistic film can come off as empty, pretentious and utterly unnecessary. See Angel's Egg. On rare occasions, however, that movie can be bursting with depth and wonder, a testament to the brilliance of whoever came up with it. See Mind Game.

In just a few words, this movie completes in an hour and a half what most 52-episode series could only dream of doing. We are treated to four characters who all undergo their own full-blown metamorphosis, in many more ways than one. We see a complete moral turnaround in Nishi, a dull and unambitious man who becomes liberated and self-actualized. We see an older man who seems to have given up on life, but after that same revelation finds a new vigor within himself, willing to start over. We see two women who each fulfill dreams long suppressed by a boring, day-to-day life and the wishes of their father. And we are shown these transformations through the most bizarre way possible.

See, these four characters were all swallowed by a whale. Doesn't really seem like the ideal place for a human transformation, but the development that lies ahead is absolutely astonishing. From the point in which the three are eaten (they meet up with the old man later), everything about the movie completely changes. Animation style, narrative, sound...not only is the change displayed in the cast, but also holistically as well.

But it's hard for me to say much more. Mind Game is a work that absolutely must be seen to be believed or even quantified. Download it and show it to everyone you know -- unless you can't get through the occasional rare slow spot, then you won't at all regret it.