Casshern (NA) 2004

Run Time: 141min
Director: Kazuaki Kiriya
DVD Release: 2004

An ugly future creates a world continually at war, gradually poisoning the world. Attempting to find a cure for his wife's terminal illness and restore the world damaged by war, a scientist accidentally creates a mutant race of people by re-growing human tissue into complete bodies. As the war reaches the city, the military turns on the mutant race, attempting to exterminate them in a display of military might recalling the Third Reich. The scientist's son is killed in the war and is brought back to life by a grieving father. Unable to control his body, the son is fitted with a special suit of armor originally designed to enhance soldiers on the battlefield. Surviving mutants intend to exact their revenge on the people who drove them to isolation, unleashing an army of robots on the populace. Now reborn as Casshern, an invincible hero of legendary prowess, the son attempts to redeem his war atrocities by saving the world from the mutant megalomaniacs. This movie is a disturbing look at the darker side of humanity, told through complex sci-fi military imagery created almost entirely with computer backgrounds and a green screen. The sound is sparse at times but the imagery is emotionally charged in a way that transcends culture to paint a dramatic picture of humanity at its most fragile. Like the recent U.S. release, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Casshern represents movie making future, combining live action performances against a background of virtual sets. As a directorial debut for Kazuaki Kiriya, Casshern represents the possibility of amazing things to come. This is a must have for sci-fi fanatics, even if you aren't normally inclined to watch subtitled movies.