金曜日, 8月 08, 2014

いまさら「鉄コン筋クリート」

この映画すごい。。。鉄コン筋クリート

鉄コン筋クリートって映画みたことありますか？アニメ映画です。
キャラクターや背景のデザインがおもろかっこよくってずーっときになってたんです。
一見、絵柄が、少年漫画らしいポジティブな冒険ファンタジーかな。。。ってイメージ
なんですが、ビデオ屋さんであらすじ読むと、どうやらお子と一緒にみるような映画でない。。。
っというわけで、お子さまが寝てからビデオ鑑賞。

それがすごいっ。。。暴力や混沌、狂乱のなかのわずかなピュアで美しいものにふれるための作品です。
とっても、痛いし、切ないし、怖いおはなしです。
最近、歳のせいなのかなんなのか、ネガティブなイメージのとびこんでくるものは、あまり頭がうけつけ
ないんですが、わずかな美しさがとてもとてもきれいなのでサラッとみてしまいました。
なにより、今までアニメ作品でみたことない独特の世界観があって、後々、色んなところでおはなしを
停止して、アート作品のような絵を楽しみました。
絵コンテ集とかあるのかな。。。素晴らしいだろうな。。。

久々のすご映画でした。
子供には、まだはやい映画なのでご注意ください。　　

『鉄コン筋クリート』強烈なまでの個性

アニメ映画ってかなりレベルが高いんだ。映画『鉄コン筋クリート』はそんなふうに思わせてくれる作品だった。毛嫌いはやっぱりよくない。

この映画の舞台は、昭和レトロな雰囲気がプンプンと漂う「宝町」。その猥雑な造形というか、ディテールにこだわった描き方が、すこぶる独特な世界観を作り上げているのだ。この世界観は、実写とかVFXなんかでは描けない、アニメならではのものだろう。クセが強いので、それが好き嫌いを分けるかもしれないが、それはそれだけ強烈な個性を持った世界をガッチリ描き切っているからと言って間違いない。この力量はすごい。圧巻だ。

鉄コン筋クリート

さて、ストーリーは暴力的で暗い。驚異的な暴力性を発揮する孤児の少年クロとシロと、宝町の再開発を目論むヤクザ連中の抗争が物語の中心なのだが、見ていてグッと身体が重くなる感じだ。それは、強烈に個性的な絵のタッチと、シロとクロのカラッとした無垢な凶暴さにあると思うが、後半に向かうにつれて観念的な側面が多くなり、さらに体力が奪われてくる。この観念性については、さまざまな見方ができるのだろうが、映画を見ただけでは判然としないので、そこはマンガも読んでから議論したほうがよさそうだ。
今回、個人的に収穫だったのは、アニメにも見るべき作品があるということを再発見できた点だと思う。いまさらそんなことを言うな、という声も多いだろうが、それだけ自分の視野が狭かったということ。今回この作品に出会えたのは大いに価値があった。

監督：マイケル・アリアス　脚本：アンソニー・ワイントラーブ　原作：松本大洋
声の出演：二宮和也　蒼井優　伊勢谷友介　宮藤官九郎　田中泯　納谷六朗

A Brief Look into Tekkonkinkreet

Tekkonkinkreet is strange. There's a lot that goes on in the anime adaptation of the original manga, but let me tell ya, it's strange. Art direction, art style, story, themes. It's all so very different from other anime and for that it's... different. But it was picked up by Sony to be published here in America, so it must have some great quality to it right? I do believe that is the case, but at the same time with two viewings under my belt I am left with the same questions.

Maybe I should read the manga. But I've never held an English copy of it in my hands. Right now I don't even know if there is indeed a localization. I've held the artbook in my hands twice now and both at anime conventions. I saw the film originally in my university's anime club 2 years ago and thought "hey, you should buy that someday" and so I did.

Good choice? Certainly.

Tekkonkinkreet follows two kids who live out on the streets without their parents. Their names are Black and White. Black is the older one of the two and seems to get into more trouble. He pickpockets and hangs out with the local gangs while White follows in example at times. They live on an island known as Treasure Town. I'm not sure if the gangs have named it this or what, but the first main conflict comes when some scaly businessmen decide to put a theme park on the island to change its image and make profit.

Black and White are known as "cats" around the town because they are orphans and have no home. A man named Mr. Snake is hired to get rid of them and see the theme park project to fruition. He sends his henchmen out to kill Black and White, effectively throwing things off balance and adding some action to the twist of things. Black and White get separated, and then Black goes through a huge change in thought and lets White go like he was nothing.

I don't quite understand this part of the plot, but hey, why should I ask? Black becomes even more dangerous and eventually begins to lose his mind. White reverts back to the small child that he is but doesn't forget Black. Then, when it's time for the henchmen to finally take Black out of the picture altogether, a Minotaur shows up. He is physical, he is a figure of the imagination, he is talked about. He saves Black and then tempts him to complete darkness.

I can't figure out if the Minotaur is actually Black or if it's actually a person. But I'm fairly positive it's Black's inner self coming out to save him. In the final battle White goes berserk in the room he's being held in, drawing pictures of a collage that creates a Minotaur. What is the ultimate connection between Black and White? It's hard to tell. In the end... it seems Black has suppressed his inner darkness and contains it within himself. White invites him back to reality.

This all happens with a yakuza backbone story. There are key figures in this part of the plot, but they serve as an interesting filler to round out Black and White's existence. I can't decide if I am supposed to care for them and their real world issues, but because Black is connected to the gangs on Treasure Island it seems I should try.

I comprehend maybe 80% of what Tekkonkinkreet has to offer. I am missing a chunk of understanding in the film's realm of consciousness and I wish I could fully wrap my mind around the plot. Like I said, it's both physical and mental. And the mix is so different from what I've witnessed in the past. Sony sure did publish an interesting one here now didn't they? Rock on Black and White. And Minotaur.

P.S. I have learned 3 things in doing some online research for Tekkonkinkreet.

1. The english adaptation of the manga has been released twice now in the United States.

2. Tekkonkinkreet is a mispronunciation of "Tekkin Konkurito", or steel-reinforced concrete. Maybe this reflects on the relationship between Black and White in the story. Maybe.

3. The film was directed by Michael Arias, an American who helped produce the Animatrix. He is one of the very few, if not the only, American to direct a Japanese animated film.

- Jared C.