I was pretty much impressed by few Japan Animations recently. So, I i rented this movie "Mind Game (2004)" with expectations.First of all the animation style is purely different,it is new and fresh. Movie starts well and creates high expectations with in the first 5minutes & That's all. Through out the movie we wait wait and wait...with our expectations and neither part of the movie fulfils it!!Story- I didn't understand the story while watching the movie....,even after watching the movie....! but some how got an idea after reading about it in web. (You need to read a directors note to understand the story!! Holy Sh*t) ((Prestige, Donnie the Darko, Dejavu - successful movies with hidden story line))Animation- As i said earlier, for me it was FRESH and NEW and with few good ideas.I don't have any more specifications in the movie to talk about.So,Conclusion- Consider an art of a Mother and a Child. Classic or Normal Art- with a clear picture, beautiful colours, tone and every one can understand and enjoy it. Modern Art- with Stripes, circles,no eyes,five limbs,awful/different colour combinations, and more often the creator must explain it to understand it to enjoy it completely.Mind Game (2004) - Is a modern art type of a movie (some may enjoy & some may not)My rating 4/10-less than average (wall-e - 9.0, grave of the fireflies-10, princess monoke-08, whisper of the heart-08...)

Purely form over content anime that combines a variety of styles to tell the story(?) of a guy in love with a girl and the gangsters who chase them and the people they meet and...your guess is as good as mine since the film restarts and shifts and goes in out out of thoughts and hopes and minds. I can't describe it you really have to see it. Violent, sexually frank and with other material that people might find offensive (this would get an R rating) this is a film thats in your face and in your head. I kind of understand why this film was a big to do a few years ago since as an experience the film is simply overwhelming. I got to a certain point and wanted to raise my hand and say I'm full now. Actually I had to go through this in pieces since it was too much.Its the sort of thing that I wish was more readily available for people to see (I had to get a region 4 Australian DVD in order to see it) but at the same time I completely understand why it hasn't been released widely in the US and elsewhere, its a film that I think companies would have a hard time marketing with many people loving it and many more going "WTF?" Actually in saying all of that about the experience of seeing the film I haven't said how it it is. As a movie, or as a story its a mess. Its scatter shot and rambling taking odd turns in order to come up with great sequences, many of which look great but don't hang together. Its a film that leaves the audience wondering what in the hell is going on. Is it any good? As an experience yes, its great, I mean who needs drugs? As a story its up and down. I'm mixed. That said if you want an experience you really have to see this.

Like most people here, I saw Mind Game on a festival - in my case, Melbourne International Film Festival in August 2006 and was simply blown away. I am no fan of anime (I wasn't before Mind Game), because the ones I have seen before seemed either too violent (Akira) or difficult to appreciate because of the Japanese cultural peculiarities (Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke).Mind Game seems to be a blend of Japanese and Western cinematography with only a few cultural barriers for westerners. I believe there are influences by Coen brothers (the hilarious episode with milk vs. "Mr. Mussburger is such a nice man, I give him double stitch anyways"), Run Lola Run, even Amelie. Perhaps the plot is inspired by the book of Job? Add to this Japanese imagination and intentionally left space for interpretation.While the plot is inventive and complex enough, it is not what makes the film, in my opinion. It is the ability to focus on tiniest details and create, well, a detailed consistent absurdist universe.Hopefully, it will be easier to find future creations of the same authors.

Wow. What can I say? I was truly blown away by this movie. Winner of the Noburo Ofuji award (the most prestigious award in Japan for an animated film), this film has unfortunately only had a very limited release in Japan (although it is playing in theaters again since winning the award). The director, Masaaki Yuasa, has previously done critically acclaimed animation work on other series, and helped create the equally mind-blowing, and somewhat disturbing short animated movie "Cat Soup".The first thing about the movie to note is the animation. The animators worked in a collaborative effort, and included a wide range of experimental and traditional animation techniques, a bit of CGI, and even a bit of live action. Viewed as individual pieces, it can be jarring, but seen together as a whole, each piece seems to fit with each other perfectly, with the different animation forms setting the mood perfectly.The story begins in present-day Tokyo, and follows a loser who is letting his childhood girlfriend slip away. Things take a twist to the fantastical side, as the characters embark on a surreal journey that changes everything about them. The actual elements of the plot are not really the focus of the movie..it is about setting the mood, creating the atmosphere of the characters' emotions, and drawing the viewer in to same mental journey the characters are going on, without even realizing it. The pace of the movie picks up and slows in parts, before building up to its thunderous and (literally) exhausting climax.See this movie , if only for the virtuoso animation that you will not see in any other film. And who knows? it just might change your whole outlook on life.