Addicted to a virtual reality war game, a Polish woman begins to question the game's origins and rumoured hidden levels after her dog mysteriously vanishes in this offbeat science fiction film. Shot in sepia tones and full of antiquated computer graphics and monitors like those in 'Brazil', the film is visually arresting from its very first frame and the protagonist makes for a curious character: a famous gamer, yet an introvert with so little in her life outside of gaming that she dedicates herself to tracking the game's secrets when her dog disappears. The film is, however, also full of cryptic conversations (about the game and gaming) that prove quite distancing and with many highly repetitive virtual reality gaming sequences, it is only in the final 25 minutes that the move really takes off with a mind-bending plot twist. It is such an intelligent and thought-provoking turn of events though that the final 25 minutes almost renders the film a masterwork, but it never makes sense why the movie takes over an hour to reach this point. One might argue that the project would have worked better as a swift short film, but an earlier revelation and more post-twist scenes would have been even better. Still, it is hard not to admire 'Avalon' for the way it so sublimely weaves the twist in, and the lateness of the revelation does admittedly make it all the more delightfully unexpected. Lead actress Malgorzata Foremniak is solid throughout, but it is her facial reactions that convey all in the final 25 minutes that render 'Avalon' a memorable experience despite its shortcomings.

If nothing else, Avalon is a visually striking movie, precisely for its lack of visual appeal. Whether it's the desert hellscapes of the virtual reality game the film centres around or the muted colours of the "real world", everything seems oppressively drab. It's an interesting bit of cinematography that makes it easy to understand how a person living in this dire, vaguely post-apocalyptic but maybe just contemporary city could turn to outlandish and violent fantasy.The script is, unfortunately, a bit of a shambles. Characters have cryptic conversations about the past or vague philosophical ideas. Interesting concepts are introduced only to be tossed aside. The ending is a steady unfolding of Twilight Zone-esque twists. It's basically Oshii indulging in his worst habits, basset hound and all. But what really rankles is that, despite this being ostensibly a film about video games, Oshii doesn't seem to grasp the appeal of games or gamer culture at all.Maybe there's a lot of stuff here I didn't get, or maybe a lot of important context got left on the cutting room floor. It's certainly an ambitious project, and not an entirely unsuccessful one. If nothing else it's nice to see Oshii exploring new ground with a live action film. But in the end this film just leaves me feeling as cold as its ambivalent and ambiguous protagonist.(Also, apparently the English version -- dub and sub -- includes expository dialogue not in the original. Who does that?)

Avalon is a game, a virtual game that may kill you in real life. Sounds kind of familiar, right? You may think that this is nothing but a "Matrix" copy, but the truth is that it has its own aesthetic (so attractive and original) and even though I didn't understand anything I'm pretty sure that those who love online gaming, role games and stuff will like "Avalon". I mean, this must be just like porn for them!! As I said before I gotta point out the look of the movie, the nebulous photography and the soundtrack... Oh, and Malgorzata Foremniak is gorgeous!!.*My rate: 5'5/10

Lot's of comments compare this movie to "The Matrix" but they don't point out the obvious difference: the plot of "Avalon" is the reverse of "The Matrix". In "The Matrix", the main character starts out in the game (the Matrix) and moves to the real world. In "Avalon", the main character (Ash) goes in the opposite direction.Another interesting point is that the philosophy of "Avalon" is the opposite of that of "The Matrix". In "The Matrix", living in reality is presented as the highest value, worth sacrificing comfort and security. In "Avalon", the point is that the real isn't morally superior to the artificial: choosing the artificial (i.e. virtual reality) is presented as a perfectly reasonable choice.There is a dispute about whether the first part of the movie is boring or just depicting a boring character. It's both. The problem is that the director apparently didn't realize that showing a boring life doesn't have to be boring. He could have used techniques such as showing a dull sequence, then referring to it briefly several times. "Groundhog Day" used that technique.A common complaint in many comments is that Ash is emotionless and her real world is bland, boring, and (almost literally) colorless. That is crucial to the movie: it has to make the point that Ash's life outside the game is meaningless.I like the fact that the movie combines Dungeons and Dragons, video games, and Multi User Dungeons, and it handles each of them accurately.We can summarize the point of the movie as: the artificial world we create can be better than the world we live in.