DVD Review: Avalon
Studio: Bluelight
Run Time: 102 min
Director: Mamoru Oshii
Starring: Malgorzata Foremniak, Jerzy Gudejko
Webpage (UK Release): http://www.avalonthemovie.com/

Mamoru Oshii from Ghost In The Shell fame turned to real live acting in this amazing, thought provoking sci-fi flick. It took him ten years to fully realise his project, wanting to fuse reality and illusions to make a �??real picture movie�?� that more resembled animation.

The central theme of Avalon can be best described as reality as perception. Filmed on location in Poland, in Polish, and with a local cast, Avalon is set in a futuristic country in ruins. It is a world where its inhabitants, particularly the youth, are increasingly alienated and isolated from reality, finding solace in highly illegal virtual games of war that have spread and grown in popularity. One of these games is called Avalon, and its players take part in a battle against a constant onslaught from tanks, helicopters, soldiers, and other fantastic machines. The risks of playing in Avalon are very real, with some players being left brain-dead in constant medical care and earning the label of the �??unreturned�?�. The rewards of taking part for many of the youngsters have to do with a sense of identity, as well as cash; some, like the main character Ash, are so successful they make their living from the game itself. For many, including Ash, Avalon represents their real identity. (Interestingly, the online sci-fi game Entropia recently annouced a credit card for its players that converted game world money into real dollars, which shows how on-the-money - excuse the bad pub - Oshii was).

Also known as the Noble Soldier, Ash is a loner in the real world with hardly any contact with another living being other than her dog. In the world of Avalon, however, she is recognised as a top player. Traditionally, players team up into groups, and Ash herself used to belong to the most successful group to ever take part in the game. After their group, known as Wizard, disbanded for reasons unknown, Ash went solo, and her obsession with the game begins leading her deeper and deeper into Avalon in the search for the Nine Sisters, a gate to an almost mythical level in the game known as �??class real�?�. Along the way, we get a glimpse into her past and why Wizard disbanded, and meet several characters within the game who help her as she progresses.

The film itself is much more complex in my mind, partly because of the use of symbolism (for example, the use of colour in certain sequences, and Ash�??s basset hound, a trademark of Oshii that recurrs in several of his projects such as Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence), and also because of the themes Oshii is trying to tackle. The complexity of the film is largely up to the viewer, depending on how far you want to look into the philosophical aspects of perception and reality. This is not really a film where you can just sit and watch; I had to view it twice to fully appreciate it, and still now I think about what it means. Oshii explains that he originally had the idea for the themes of Avalon while playing computer games all day long in the 80�??s, thinking about how to use virtual reality games as a way to interrogate our perceptions of reality: �??These days, many movies use the game as subject matter, but they have nothing to do with the movie I imagine. I don�??t think it�??s a question of bringing the virtual in reality or the other way around, it�??s the boundaries between them that must be the theme of the movie.�?� This is what really separates Avalon from movies such as Existenz, which is probably the only film I can think of that is even remotely similar.

Visually, it is wonderful; not so much because of the backdrop or set design, but mainly because the film was first shot and then digitally altered over five months into beautiful sepia tones, using �??suppression of colour to express the wishes of the director regarding the vision of his world and to illustrate the sombre existences of the principal characters better.�?� (Art Director Hiroyuki Hayashi) The sense of alienation of characters in the real world is conveyed beautifully, and use of actual CGI elements within the film is done sparingly, which gives it a sense of realism you don�??t often find these days in an over-CGI�??d sci-fi film industry.

Most of the complaints I�??ve read regarding the film have, like Casshern, spoken about it being boring, not enough action, and so on. Other criticisms revolve around editing, the film cuts off too abruptly, or it just wasn�??t what people expected. I found these to be largely unjustified. When I first watched Avalon, I ranked it as the best sci-fi film I�??d seen since Blade Runner. I was probably a bit over-excited at the time, but it is certainly a must-see for those who appreciate a film that makes you use your grey matter. Too often people want to watch a film and have everything given to them on a plate, smacked in the face with some message saying, �??This is it!�?� You will not find this in Avalon; what you will find is a thought provoking film if you�??re prepared to watch and listen.

Some screen shots are available here, and an interview with Oshii about Avalon (and other bits) is available here