Based on a novel series by Hiroshi Mori, The Sky Crawlers finds us in an alternate universe where propeller planes are still the norm and a ceaseless battle is ongoing. Oshii mentions in one of the extras that he wanted the setting to be deliberately opaque, and it is, but he also states explicitly that he based the physical environments in the film on those he scouted in both Poland and Ireland. However, the national settings for The Sky Crawlers really don't matter much, as the central conflict seems actually to be between two multi-national corporations that actually manufacture the fighter planes and associated hardware, Rostock and Lautern. Our heroes are part of the Rostock brigade.

The film, which plays a bit like an anime The Blue Max, follows the exploits of Kannami, the new recruit at Rostock. Kannami quickly figures out he's replaced the mysterious Jinroh, who may or may not have been killed, equally as mysteriously. This film moves in very measured, deliberate ways, and though you may (like I did) ultimately guess what's going on vis a vis Kannami, you actually have to wait until a good 90 minutes into the two hour film before the various plot strands are finally woven together to give something like a semblance of coherence.

Though a lot of what turns out to be important plot information in this film is often kind of snuck in with throwaway comments, by the final half hour or so of The Sky Crawlers, if you've been paying careful attention, you've come to realize that several characters are genetically enhanced not to age and those souls have become the literal fodder who are trained to become pilots and work in the war industry, since they're somehow thought of as more "expendable." At about 90 minutes in or so there are two Ghost in the Shell-ish moments when one of the young women pilots waxes philosophical about man's "need" for war, hence the nonstop fighting in this alternate universe, and also utters a sudden rant which reveals connections between Jinroh and Kannami.

Ultimately, though, this film is more like a barbiturate infused dream in slow motion. Images are diaphanous and blend absolutely crystalline realism, usually with regard to technology like planes and cars, with a more abstract graphic quality, usually with regard to the "humans." It's an obvious visual cue letting us in on a subliminal level as to Oshii's thesis about what's becoming more real in the future world (hint--it isn't us). It also gives the entire film a slightly hallucinatory quality that is suddenly shaken back to something close to reality when the fantastic aerial battle sequences kick in.

The Sky Crawlers is definitely not a film for those who require quick action. It can literally take several seconds for one character to react to another, screen time when literally nothing happens. There are long stretches of characters simply looking out at various environments and saying nothing. Oshii does gives us two of his favorite "characters," his beloved Bassett Hound and a mysterious music box (whose portent is never fully explained, at least that I could discern), both of which pop up in the Ghost in the Shell series. (In fact there's a cute moment in one of the extras when Oshii visits Skywalker Sound to start preparing the film's soundtrack and the Skywalker crew gives him a sweatshirt with an embossed Bassett Hound on it).

If you set aside two hours of your life with the clear intention that you're watching this film for no other reason than to at least exult in its very unique visuals, chances are you'll come away with an enjoyable experience. If the moralizing and philosophizing are ultimately less than completely compelling, Oshii at the minimum crafts a totally believable alternate world that combines elements of a fighter ace ethos with a sort of 1984-esque "War is Peace" mentality. It's nothing less than fascinating, but it's the sort of fascination you experience on a breezy summery day watching a butterfly--it's akin to being hypnotized, but pleasantly so. If you can stand two hours of slow development punctuated by some brilliant battle segments, The Sky Crawlers is one of the most unique animes you're apt to see for some time.

Note: Make sure to stay tuned through the final credits. There's a little "twist" coda at the end.

The Blu-ray

Video:
Like the film itself, The Sky Crawlers' AVC 1.78:1 image is restrained. Colors are blanched a lot of the time, making the moments of deep hue and saturation all the more lively. Fine line detail is astoundingly crisp and the CGI is amazing at times. As noted above, the film is stylistically a bit of a mish-mash, featuring everything from hyperrealism to more traditional looking, quasi-abstract cel animation. One way or the other, this is an excellent looking BD.

Sound:
The two soundtracks I listened to, both TrueHD 5.1, were the Japanese and English. Both sounded superb, with very little difference between them in terms of volume or mix. The battle sequences are obviously the flashiest moments in the film from a sound design perspective, and you'll be treated to some great surround channel effects as planes dart and soar in from different directions. The rest of the film is more placid, but boasts excellent fidelity and separation, along with a great underscore by Kenjii Kawai. Strangely, though the film also offers a Portuguese TrueHD 5.1 mix, the Spanish mix is in DD 5.1, and actually has a bit more high end than the others. Subtitles are available in all soundtrack languages, as well as French.

Extras:
Three good documentaries, all shot on videotape but presented here in HD, are offered. One recounts the location scouting to create the physical environments of the film, one shows the sound design being crafted at Skywalker Ranch, and the third is an interview with Oshii. There are also previews and a BD Live element that I simply could not get to work (I either got an error message saying my update hadn't downloaded correctly, though there had never been an update, or, occasionally, a prompt asking if I was connected to the internet. I repeatedly checked my settings, and even successfully got to BD Live on several other BDs I spot-checked, so there's either an authoring error here or Sony simply hasn't finished Sky Crawlers' BD Live component yet.

Final Thoughts:
Oshii is one of the more unusually gifted directors working in anime today. Relentlessly intellectual, sometimes to his own detriment, he at least is trying to tackle some big ticket items in terms of man's place in the universe amidst a disturbingly growing trend toward technology. The Sky Crawlers may strike some as too lethargic, but if you're in the right frame of receptivity, it really offers a sublimely surreal trip to the "far side" of imagination. Visually superb, it will at the very least delight your eyes. Recommended.

____________________________________________
"G-d made stars galore" & "Hey, what kind of a crappy fortune is this?" ZMK, modern prophet