Post #8: Princess

    The first thing that really caught my attention was the cover, and poster, that I saw on Netflix.

 

    

    The second was some of the first reviews I read, claiming it to be a moralistic vendetta and revenge piece on the level of Taxi Driver.  What I found, instead, was a lot of good ideas, but either poor directing, or bad post production, had turned them into a mess, unsure of the message that it was trying to send.

    The film revolves around the return of a missionary, August, to the town where his very recently deceased sister lived.  His sister, we find out very quickly, was a very successful pornstar, and August has returned to take her daughter, Mia, so that she can grow up in a better environment.  As the story unfolds, both the viewer and August find out that Mia was been sexually and physically abused, and the protagonist takes it upon himself to get revenge for Mia, and destroy any trace of his sister's films in the 'Princess' line.  This is where the film starts to lose its focus and the sense of credibility that a fictional animated piece can have.

    The rampage that August goes on is undoubtedly awesome, and does hearken the attitude of Taxi Driver in the coolness with which August approaches and attacks some of his victims.  However, from what we can see of him, the brutality that he takes under his wing isn't really fitting.  Towards the end, we find that he feels responsible for getting his sister into porn, which makes it sensible in some fashion, but August was either not explored enough, or this factor was entered too late.  What I thought was a problem at first, but have decided is intentional, is the double standards that his blood-lust has.  He takes Mia, who is only about 5 or 6 years old, to the house of the man that sexually abused her after he finds out who it is.  Then, he lets Mia beat the guy in the testicles with a crowbar.  The sheer violence that he involves her in is just as bad or worse as her abuse, but of course he doesn't realize that until the end, when a botched bomb in her teddy bear takes her life as well as August's intended victims'.  I couldn't tell if the film was anti-violence or anti-porn, and I believe it doesn't take a stand.  We get these really powerful images, like Mia unzipping August's zipper, or August killing someone, but without a stance, they end up being the same exploitative drivel that they denounce.  Drivel may be a harsh word for it, but if the filmmakers didn't have a clear intent, I'm left wondering why I watched it.

    The other thing about the film that first intrigued me, but then ended up bothering me, is that it is filmed in about 80% animation, and 20% live action.  It's an interesting idea, but the way its employed doesn't seem to have a clear purpose.  The animation is great, with strong colors, realistic and caricatured character models and a good sense of perspective.  Some of the shots were fantastic, ones that a live-action director would envy.  The live-action segments were all home videos that August had made in the past that he watched during the course of the movie, and then the final scene.  It almost seems like the director started the movie as a live-action idea, but after realizing the content involved, switched to animation.  The combination doesn't work for the movie, it works against it.  Showing the "real" versions of the characters pulls the viewer out of the suspension of disbelief, and makes the film not flow as much.  Having the final scene in live-action made no sense, as it was just August looking at the graves of everyone that died.  

    I didn't hate Princess, I just think that the filmmakers were either lazy or unsure of what stance or route to take.  Therefore, the finished product is a tight sucker punch of a plot with a lot of thematic weight that never really takes off because it doesn't know where, or why, to fly.

 I commented on Manon Butt's and Chuck Soo-Hoo's blogs.

Comments

[Free Movies]

Incredible movie poster. I haven't seen this movie yet. After reading your review I am excited to watch it.I love animations that makes the scenes look great and realistic. I can't wait for more ... and will do watch the movie very soon.