The plot is often bewilderingly complex and the dense layers of subterfuge hard to follow, but by the climax the fairy tale has been twisted into a fascist fable of realpolitik mercenary opportunism.
90
L.A. Weekly
L.A. Weekly
Where Okiura leads the art of animation into truly uncharted territory is in his character work, the precise behavioral strokes that bring people to life in two dimensions.
80
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
A superbly crafted science-fiction fairy tale that's both Grimm and grim.
75
San Francisco ChronicleWesley Morris
San Francisco ChronicleWesley Morris
The film is built to quaver and buckle along with its victims and martyrs. In an almost soulful way, it bespeaks the reality lingering when the final fantasy ends.
Characters are undermined by the inexpressive animation that mars the majority of animated films: Their haunted inner lives are clearly meant to take center stage, but their faces are blank and two-dimensional.
50
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
Dubbed for U.S. audiences, the film has suffered in translation.