August is a priest who returns to Denmark from missionary work to take care of his five year old niece Mia when his sister Christina dies of a drug overdose. August has spent years trying to save others through his work but was powerless to help Christina, whose life was a downward spiral since achieving fame in life as the titular "Princess"- a porn star. His feelings of guilt turn to anger when he realizes that his sister wasn't the only victim of this seedy underworld, but that little Mia has a long documented history of sexual and physical abuse. He directs his rage towards the men behind the camera that used and abused his sister and her daughter to line their own pockets. Thus begins a bloody tale of vengeance as August, with Mia as his side, resolves to wipe his sisters porn legacy from the face of the planet, while all the time trying to reach his prize- Charlie- the man who was Christina's lover, and who first brought her fame as the Princess.
To say that the film is good is to do it a disservice. The film is simply put a work of art. The animation, while always limited, achieves something in its simplicity that all the millions of costly pixels (-seemingly employed by everyone and their third cousin twice removed these days) simply cannot. Honesty. August's journey is a cautionary tale- making no bones about the fact that the first victim of revenge (no matter how good the case for revenge may be) is always the one who seeks it. This is a complex film which challenges the viewer in that it makes us understand and indeed root for August but, as the body count rises, literally destroys any good in him in the process. What starts out as wish fulfillment fantasy ala Kill Bill, turns decidedly nasty as Morgenthaler never lets you forget that the lives lost to August's cause are not always deserving, or if indeed they are, they are only deserving seen from a certain point of view. There are no universal rights or wrongs, no innocents. Just people. I would love to write more on this point, but firmly believe that it would spoil the journey for anyone coming into the film fresh.
Morgenthaler is in a league that few can claim. I was constantly and happily reminded of Scorsese ala "Mean streets" and "Taxi Driver", of Towne and Polanski ala "Chinatown". There is a fierce directness to this work that is staggering and his decisions are constantly surprising. The film is inter-cut with live action footage, taken by August in his youth when he was a camera nut. This lays out the back story of their lives and charts how all this came to pass. I was wary of this concept going into the film as I have rarely thought that mixing these two media was successful. With one exception he pulls it off, the shaky home video feel adds credence to the animated world (not to mention the porn, which with the exception of the opening sequence is always shown live action), plus providing us with a third reel whammy that will knock you for six.
The star of the film though is Mia. She is the ultimate in innocence corrupted. Where as in "Perfect Blue" we watched as a childlike young woman is tortured by a sexual predator, here we have an actual child who has experienced much worse, but is too young to have any idea of the psychological consequences. She is hurt, frightened, tragically sad, but only seen from our point of view. She was raised in this world, and that's all she really knows. Playing house for her is something entirely different then for other children. It is played for laughs at times, but Morgenthaler chokes that laugh in your throat by never letting you forget the sheer horror of what it is you are watching. It leaves a lasting mark on you that is hard to shake.
I cannot recommend this film highly enough.
To say that the film is good is to do it a disservice. The film is simply put a work of art. The animation, while always limited, achieves something in its simplicity that all the millions of costly pixels (-seemingly employed by everyone and their third cousin twice removed these days) simply cannot. Honesty. August's journey is a cautionary tale- making no bones about the fact that the first victim of revenge (no matter how good the case for revenge may be) is always the one who seeks it. This is a complex film which challenges the viewer in that it makes us understand and indeed root for August but, as the body count rises, literally destroys any good in him in the process. What starts out as wish fulfillment fantasy ala Kill Bill, turns decidedly nasty as Morgenthaler never lets you forget that the lives lost to August's cause are not always deserving, or if indeed they are, they are only deserving seen from a certain point of view. There are no universal rights or wrongs, no innocents. Just people. I would love to write more on this point, but firmly believe that it would spoil the journey for anyone coming into the film fresh.
Morgenthaler is in a league that few can claim. I was constantly and happily reminded of Scorsese ala "Mean streets" and "Taxi Driver", of Towne and Polanski ala "Chinatown". There is a fierce directness to this work that is staggering and his decisions are constantly surprising. The film is inter-cut with live action footage, taken by August in his youth when he was a camera nut. This lays out the back story of their lives and charts how all this came to pass. I was wary of this concept going into the film as I have rarely thought that mixing these two media was successful. With one exception he pulls it off, the shaky home video feel adds credence to the animated world (not to mention the porn, which with the exception of the opening sequence is always shown live action), plus providing us with a third reel whammy that will knock you for six.
The star of the film though is Mia. She is the ultimate in innocence corrupted. Where as in "Perfect Blue" we watched as a childlike young woman is tortured by a sexual predator, here we have an actual child who has experienced much worse, but is too young to have any idea of the psychological consequences. She is hurt, frightened, tragically sad, but only seen from our point of view. She was raised in this world, and that's all she really knows. Playing house for her is something entirely different then for other children. It is played for laughs at times, but Morgenthaler chokes that laugh in your throat by never letting you forget the sheer horror of what it is you are watching. It leaves a lasting mark on you that is hard to shake.
I cannot recommend this film highly enough.