MIFF MOVIE REVIEW: PATEMA INVERTED



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Since  the world changing incident young Patema and her family had lived underground. But Patema dreams of the outside world and determined to uncover what is beyond the passages of the tunnels. One day she goes too far and finds herself falling into the sky. Saved by the young boy Age she discovers herself in the land of inverted gravity. The boy and the girl strike an incredible bond, even though their worlds cannot coexist together. Will the love conquer all? And will they be able to uncover the mystery of the catastrophe that had befallen the world?

PATEMA INVERTED could have been a perfect Ghibly movie. It has a great premise, wonderful characters and fast pacing script. Entering the outside world, Patema faces the realm of danger where nothing can hold her on the ground and the beautiful blue sky is the abyss that can swallow her any minute. Clever  camera angles and  inverted shots make you see the earth through Panema eyes and this is the greatest achievement of the movie.

With a few strokes of a brush director Yasuhiro Yashira creates a totalitarian world. The movie is not long enough to provide every detail, but it is believable and terrifying.

Apart from original idea the script still manages to deliver a few surprises on the way, showing just how much the star crossed lovers ready to sacrifice for each other.

The soundtrack from Michuru Oshima, who has done a lot of work for computer video games and was approached by the director because he liked her previous work, delivers short but memorable passages in a very traditional anime way. The titled song lacks the usual J-Pop pace however, but will appeal to those who likes epic songs the likes of Joe Hisaishi.

PATEMA INVERTED could be called an indie film, first promoted with online shorts, it gives us a compelling storytelling with only one writer at the hip - it shall make Hollywood feel envious. Yasuhiro Yashira seems like an artist with a great potential and a talent to succeed. I will be looking forward for what he does next.

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