Blue Remains [DVD] [2000]

Blue Remains is a juvenile CGI science fantasy made in 1999 for the approximate equivalent of the Okinawan Tourist Board. It apparently was shown once and then, until resurfacing on DVD, sank without trace. This is peculiarly apt, for not only has Blue Remains (in the words of the DVD's commentary) already become a `strange curio', but most of its narrative takes place underwater, and carefully placed in the Okinawa area at that. One reason for this submersed setting was undoubtedly to fit into the tourist board's brief to the makers - to show scenes most relevant for promoting a seaside resort. As it happens this is a happy choice as, for technical reasons, it is much easier to computer animate figures and movement underwater, where sharp edges are blurred and slow movement is commonplace. Unfortunately, even with this helping hand, CGI techniques have moved on apace since Blue Remains was completed, and for those adults familiar with Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001) a lot of Blue Remains will seem a little clunky, especially in the depiction of the human. Out of the water, people here tend to move a little clumsily, facial expressions are wooden, reactions lethargic. Neither is the film helped by a script sometimes at odds with logic, and which spends too little time setting up any real tension or dramatic dynamic on the the way to its fantasmogorical conclusion..

On the plus side, Blue Remains does a reasonably good job of depicting an acquatic environment, although sea life remains resolutely limited to a single dolphin and small fish..Watching the film. one is reminded of the tremendous impact that Cameron's The Abyss (1989) and then Titanic (1997) made in Japan. There are also one or two specific lifts from The Matrix (1999), while the underwater battle sequence, which takes up almost 10% of the film's 75 minute running time, is well staged. With its strong environmental message and youthful female protagonist, Blue Remains is a fair snapshot of what second rank animation was up to at the time.

Interestingly the most memorable characters in the film are those of the mutants, notably the monomaniacal villain Glyptofane Sex. He and the others are shown as disembodied brains, eyes on stalks, suggestive of The Brain from Planet Arous (1957) or Fiend Without a Face (1958). This conscious or not resemblance gives a frisson of recognition for genre fans that's less hand-me-down than some of the other plot elements, such as tentacled villains and the appearance of a 'tree of life'. A lot of the film is taken up with issues of generation, environment, and the succession of the human species. The three good mutants, Adenine Unum, Mymine Duu and Cytosine Tria have names taken from the combinative structure of DNA - a theme continued at the plot's climax at Sinerik Sanctuary, where a transformed Glyptofane is confronted around a structure which resembling a double helix. The final scenes of the film include some of the best animation although its symbolic climax arguably reveals the maker's game design-sensibility, rather than the dramatic movement required for film narrative.

Clearly aimed at younger viewers, this is the sort of film which cries out for an English language dub, unfortunately not offered by the otherwise excellent DVD edition. Still, if you enjoy undemanding fare of this sort, and enjoyed the more impressive Final Fantasy, this is worth checking out.

So what is this piece of work that has gathered so much acclaim from Anime and movie fans like myself? Read on...

Back through space to a world laid waste by nuclear war, Amamiku and her parents Ryu and Uri, return. They carry the seeds that hold the genetic code of the planet and can be used for its rebirth. As they land in one of the less polluted oceans of the planet, both Ryu and Uri are contaminated by the earth's radiation. They leave their daughter, Amamiku, asleep in stasis, charging her with the task of restoring the earth.

90 years later, the now 14 year old Amamiku lives underwater protected from the radioactive atmosphere above, and impatiently waits for the earth to be ready for the seeds to germinate.

With only the ship's computer, Mayzamik, and the robot Pyron, for company, Amamiku has been alone since she woke ten years ago. But when her existence is discovered, it sparks a frantic race between the remains of humanity struggling for survival, and the disembodied brain, Glyptofane. This fanatic being, who sees mankind as a plague, has programmed his robotic army to destroy them.

Can Amamiku overcome this overwhelming threat, so she can complete her parent's work and make the earth fertile once again...?

TRULY a major find, especially for Anime and CGI fans alike, BLUE REMAINS is a masterpiece of the genre's.
The ending is as beautiful as the 60 minutes before it, and you will relish every moment spent with Blue Remains. It is a perfect pick for the kiddies as well, with underwater resemblence coming from Pixar's Finding Nemo. (Personally I think Blue Remains is much more the success, in terms of storyline and in terms of CGI - the scene where the HUGE octopus-like Glyptofane and his hoard of slave machines appear at a distance in the foggy ocean, your jaw will literally drop to the floor).

And you will find yourself rewinding to Annette Brisset's "Quiet Voice", the soft and delightful ending theme to this un-noticed modern classic.