Kybernetická babicka (1962)

... aka: Cyber Grandma

... aka: Cybernetic Grandmother, The

... aka: Die Oma vom anderen Stern (The Grandma from the Other World)

Directed by:

Jiří Trnka

They can speak like us. They can say all the right words and do all the right things. They can teach us everything we need to know. They probably make fewer mistakes. And they can claim to feel things and care about us and nurture us and pacify us and put on an impressive almost-human-like show of compassion and emotion. But can they actually fully replace us? This eerie sci-fi tale, which is as timely as ever despite being made over sixty years ago, theorizes that they indeed cannot. "They," in this case, being robots, cyborgs, androids, cyber-whatevers; machinery and computers programmed to replace human beings by duplicating what humans typically do in their day-to-day lives but also mimicking the assumed correct things humans should say. Despite being less prone to error, age, illness and the complexities of the human psyche, there isn't and likely will never be a suitable artificial replacement for family and friends of the human variety, says Trnka. After marveling at technology, taking advantage of it and playing with all of the cool new toys in a futuristic world, sometimes all you really need is a hug from your grandma.

At a small cottage, a grandmother and her beloved young granddaughter receive a message from the girl's absent mother delivered by a drone-like device. There's a lot to gouge about the coldness of technological advancement from this one brief message alone. The girl isn't referred to by name, even by her own mother. Instead, she's "the kid" and is given her new identification number, ACH028. And then there's the fact the mother automatically assumes the little girl must be bored staying with her old-fashioned and tech illiterate grandmother in her simple country cottage. After all, she prefers her quiet, simple life and doesn't even bother with all of the dazzling gadgets available to this advanced society. However, little does the mother know, her daughter is already perfectly content with her red ball and the affection she receives from her loving granny. Nonetheless, the message orders the girl be delivered to her new home.

The trip there is a journey through a graveyard of advancements past. A paved roadway is no longer used because cars are no longer used, TV sets, airplanes, weaponry and other commonly used things of the previous generations sit around covered in cobwebs. Once they arrive at their destination, the sad, scared girl is given her number, says goodbye to her grandma and is then whisked away to her new home, which may be somewhere in space for all we know. Just like any other product, she finds herself on a conveyor belt and is then placed in an egg-shaped glass pod that entertains her with machine-generated music as lights and other pods travel around a complex system where seemingly meaningless numbers, letters and symbols constantly flash. It's all impressive, yet cold, confusing, impersonal and sterile.

Finally arriving at her destination, the girl discovers her new home cavernous, quiet and deserted. Both of her astronaut parents are away; mom on some "geological expedition" and dad back on the moon. Left in their place to babysit is a robot (voiced by Otýlie Benísková) who's been programmed to behave just like a grandmother; even physically designed for that purpose to resemble a comforting chair with angel-like doily wings. "She" insists there's no reason to be scared, assures the girl it loves her, wants the girl to call it grandma and is equipped with all kinds of annoying old school phrases like like "A healthy mind is a healthy body!" and "Cleanliness is next to godliness!" When it comes time to scold ("Leaning out the window is strictly forbidden!"; "Sit straight!") it does so in the same artificially chipper tone. It coaxes her into a bathroom where robot arms do all of the cleaning for her and then sits her down for a bedtime story that involves murder and dismemberment. Needless to say, the girl is distrustful and horrified, but her story ends on a hopeful and heartwarming note.

This is another gem from influential Czech animator Trnka that I probably should have watched a lot sooner since I'd previously loved his allegorical short THE HAND (1965). His trademark combination of stop motion animation and puppetry is put to visually striking effect here, with unique, brilliant designs for this futuristic world, as well as an important message delivered in a concise and affecting way. Even more impressively, this is able to relay its exact intentions to the audience with surprisingly little dialogue, instead focusing on the visuals and sound design, with Jan Novák's varied score, alternately whimsical and disquieting / horrific, ably supporting the scenario.

Since we've already moved into an age where people are not only somewhat disconnected from nature and the outside world, but also somewhat disconnected from other human beings, what this has to say is even more relevant now than it was back in 1962. While the flesh-and-blood grandma may be slower and more feeble, she has the advantage of interpersonal wisdom and nuance gained through lived experience. Her genuine affection for her granddaughter is not something a computer can exactly or believably duplicate, just as the granddaughter is intuitively more receptive to love coming from an organic place that feels earned and authentic as opposed to a manufactured one.

★★★1/2

Baiorensu jakku: jigoku-gai (1988)

... aka: バイオレンスジャック 地獄街

... aka: Violence Jack: Evil Town

... aka: Violence Jack: Evil Town - Part 1

... aka: Violence Jack: Hell City - Evil Town

... aka: Violence Jack, Part 2: Evil Town

Directed by:

Ichirô Itano

Middle chapter of the three-part OVA series based on the Gô Nagai manga, this follows VIOLENCE JACK: SLUMKING (1986) but doesn't continue where that one left off and is an independent story with a new setting and new roster of supporting characters.

Due to a constant stream of natural disasters (lightning storms, earthquakes, etc.), part of Tokyo has sunk deep below the Earth's surface. Now a dark, dreary subterranean wasteland filled with dirt, stone, debris and rubble, the newly-christened "Evil Town" has a populace who've been reduced to murder, criminality, gang activity and worse in order to survive. In a desperate attempt to maintain at least some order, the underground city has been divided into various sections. Section A is the closest thing to "proper" civilization that's around in such trying times and are focused on tunneling their way back up to the surface. Though it has laws, rules, politicians and an operating police force, even there the regular citizens are forced to eat cockroaches and rats. Section B (called "Hell City") is where anything goes, the criminal elements run amok and a violent gang led by hulking Mad Saurus, the biggest, strongest and most feared man there, are in charge. Saurus' lover / sidekick is a husky-voiced blonde named Blue, who struts around in a red hat and jacket, panties and stockings and looks like one of the band members from the cartoon Jem.

While digging tunnels, Section A Officer Kawamori and his men detect a wind pocket, break through a wall and unearth a still-living, super-strong giant. When confronted with members of Saurus' gang, the giant stomps one to death Godzilla-style. The others flee back to Saurus and report what they've just witnessed. The giant of few words (though more than the previous film!) soon makes his identity known: "Call me Jack... Violence Jack."

Kawamori takes Jack to see Mayor Tahei Shibaki, who wastes no time trying to sway him over to their side with rare delicacies like ham and beer. He then explains the severity of their current situation. Supplies are running low, the vermin infestation has caused disease to break out and if they don't find their way to the surface soon everyone will die. He also wants Jack to help them in their fight against the goons in Section B.

However, there's yet another faction of Evil Town: Section C. Populated exclusively by women. the green-haired Aila, who used to work in the cities financial district, and the blue-haired Rikki, an Amazonian bodybuilder, are the closest thing they have to leaders. Flashbacks reveal that soon after the city sank into the ground, the men who currently populate Section A and are now trying to pass themselves off as the good guys, drugged and raped many of the young women there. Some of the victims were killed, other committed suicide and, for self-preservation purposes, the survivors had no alternative but to branch off and sequester themselves in what was once a former shopping mall. The ladies offer to hire Jack for their own protection and, considering his two other options, he agrees. The three sections remain at each other's throats until an all-out war begins.

If you're going to make something gory, over-the-top and ultra sleazy, this is pretty much the way to do it! This is not only far better than the first chapter, with higher-quality animation, more imaginative and sometimes even quite artistic direction and use of color, more memorable characters and an interesting, streamlined, coherent plot, but it's also so tasteless it's almost inspiring!

Since one long gang rape scene clearly isn't enough, may as well have two long gang rape scenes... and throw lesbian and transsexual rapists into the mix for a little variety while you're at it... and then turn one of those rapes into a bloodbath where the attackers get gruesomely slaughtered mid-rape. If it weren't for Japanese censors blurring out certain body parts, these scenes would be explicit to the point of being pornographic. And since a sadistic punk biker gang with members named things like Toad, Wasp, Tomcat and Aids doesn't sound bad enough as is, may as well turn them all into sex-crazed degenerates, as well! Their leader even turns into a big, red, nearly-indestructible demon monster himself toward the end.

While the pervy sexual content is high, the ludicrous amount of blood being flung around is even more memorable. Though I still have a lot more of these things to view, this is probably the goriest 80s anime I've seen thus far. Bodies are torn in half, numerous heads, legs, arms and hands are chopped off, eyeballs pop out, heads are squashed, a man makes out with a severed head before cannibalizing both it and the corpse, vaginas are mutilated, a group of young children get slaughtered in graphic fashion and a woman even gets split in half and her guts go flying when one of the giants decides to rape her! Trust me when I say that what I've just described is just the tip of the iceberg as far as the blood and gore are concerned. You've either been warned or you can consider that a recommendation.

Not surprisingly, the extreme content caused this entry distribution problems in certain parts of the world over the years. A heavily-censored version was released in most countries and it was outright banned in Australia. Here in the U.S., it was originally released to VHS in a cut version by Manga Entertainment but has since become readily available in its uncut form from companies like Discotek Media and Critical Mass. The third and final OVA in this series is Violent Jack: Hell's Wind (1990), which will probably have difficult time measuring up to this one!

★★★