Origin - Spirits of the Past [DVD]

The sumptuous colours and superbly drawn setting combine with a majestically catchy song which sucks you into the world and bodes incredibly well for the rest of the film. You are only at the intro and already you will be salivating, sure the pessimist inside you will think `brilliant intro but it must surely go downhill from here' something about climaxing too early. To a mix of great relief and joy you find yourself journeying into a brilliantly realised world which is bright and wonderfully stylised.We are brought into a world built upon what must have been a prosperous technologically advanced civilisation which stands now only as ruins and long forgotten chambers buried deep within the ground. Nature and time have consumed it all, until we are introduced to a girl who has been in suspended animation since before the fall of `civilisation', though as we find out she is not the first.The general theme of the film should be familiar to anybody with a passing interest in anime, in that it is a case of forest v humans of a military bent v humans with an interest in peace. It is a well worn plot in these sorts of film but it forms a nice strong base for a very interesting story which is solidly laid out.The film is thoughtful but it does have an action gear which switches on as we are introduced to the idea of enhanced humans. The film feels like a cross between final fantasy 7 and Panzer Dragoon Saga in terms of atmosphere and visuals there are shades of these two games in the storyline as well, which in my opinion should warrant immediate purchase by anybody with a passing interest in these two classics of story led games.There are scenes which mirror studio ghibli's Laputa almost exactly, in fact the last 30 mins are almost a perfect reflection of that films finale, it does feel like a respectful homage rather than blatant rip off, and it has such a strong character itself that you might not even notice the similarities; it took me a second viewing to notice.The musical score is also worthy of a quick mention it completes your total immersion and is always beautifully majestic.Watching this film makes you wish you lived in decaying buildings overrun by plants, because it sure does look beautiful, or at least this film manages to make it look that way I suppose in real life you might get put off the idea quite quickly when you realise that your crumbling house has let water in and made the grass you are sitting on all soggy.

This film hasn't always got the greatest reviews but I really liked it and thought it would have made a good series. I think it's main problem is that outstanding opening which complete with a soundtrack from Kokia, does put the actual film in the shade somewhat.Scientists, in their impatience to develop trees which can thrive in harsh conditions, of course go too far, the trees become self aware, break out of their confines on the moon and dispatch their seedlings to Earth in a fiery meteor storm. Many, many years later, forests cover most of what was left of the earth but one community has carved out an existence in and around the ruined skyscrapers of what was once a busy metropolis. With the forests now controlling the very supply of water, they have developed an uneasy relationship with the tree like druids in order to survive.One day, a young man called Agito finds a set of status capsules underground. While most of the inhabitants have long deceased, one does contain the daughter of the chief scientist, still preserved in time from the destruction of the Earth. Waking up in a world she barely recognises, she becomes torn between those who want live in peace alongside the sentient forests and those who want to use her to destroy them (and everything else) in order to regain control.

i'm a huge hayao miyazaki fan. when i heard that this film had elements of his storytelling genius along the lines of his earlier works i thought: ''Hey! I like that idea! someone finally taking on the big boy by playing at his own game!!''now i wasn't expecting this to be quite as brilliant as his work, but i was expecting a certain level of originality. the story had elements of practically every ghibli fantasy i've ever seen, and i felt the characters were so wooden and tired looking i didn't really care. but i did really enjoy this film! it was big, dumb and fun! like michael mann taking on a hayao miyazaki film, this looks the part, but storywise, its formulaic dribble. a volcano moves for goodness sake! ON WHEELS!!!but the opening five minutes was pure entertainment. the music and animation was incredible, and it continued at that high level of quality throughout the film. five stars on artistry. i found certain plot elements interesting: i was intrigued by the flashbacks and completely taken by the creepy forest setting. sadly, these story elements weren't really taken to the max, and the potential for this film to be amazing is sadly so obviously clear.i showed this film to someone who had never seen a japanese anime, and they were enthralled. so as a starting point in japanese anime, this is a good place to begin. for those that love this medium, its mildly diverting storywise, but artistically, its the kind of film everyone should see on a really, REALLY big screen!also, towards the end when the hero (whose name escapes me) turns into one of the white haired people (forgot what they're called, sorry again!) i thought the animation was in a league of its own. when the heroes tree father was shown, i found it creepy. this film is worth viewing on the opening scene and these scenes alone. and to finish it off, the music really is as good as everyone has said on this site. kokia should have been oscar nominated for something. perhaps the musical score!so now i've come to the end of my review. this is my grading:five stars for the looks.two stars for the story.six stars for the soundtrack.i give this four. if you expect little, you will recieve a lot! just don't expect the majesty of miyazaki's naussica, laputa, or mononoke. or even howl's moving castle! in fact, just don't expect anything. just sit back, listen, watch and forget about the story. a film this beautiful should just be looked at. i can only wonder how great this could have been had someone thought more about the story!

Origine ( spirits of the past) è un fantastico Anime con una bellissima storia è un ottima qualità artistica. Anche in questo caso il messaggio ,neanche più di tanto nascosto, mette in evidenze come dietro a tutte le conseguenze di situazioni che causano danni, errori quasi irreparibili ci diano sempre gli "uomini" ,la troppa tecnologia , il non farsi mai domande e delegare sempre tutto alle "autorità " ,al potere, alla politica....che come sempre non fa mai gli interessi della popolazione !!Origine ( spirits of the past) is a fantastic Anime with a beautiful story and a very good artistic quality. Also in this case the message, not even that much hidden, highlights how behind all the consequences of situations that cause damage, almost irreparable errors there are always "men", too much technology, never asking questions and delegating always everything to the "authorities", to power, to politics.... which as always never does the interests of the population!!

Emotional sehr schön und Lehrreich..

THIS MOVIE DOES NOT WORK ON USA DVD PLAYERS DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY. Great movie though if you can find one that works on USA DVD players I would defiantly buy it.

I have to say, it arrived very fast, it was sealed, so totally brand new. I saw this movie a long ago, I loved it ever since, but couldn't find it. The disc was totaly new, no scratches, no marks. I saw it in Japanese with english subtitles, therefore, I don't know how the dubbed version is like.It only has two languages, English/Japanese. The bluray quality, for me is as good as it gets, so no complaints there. Amazon worked well, fast and to me, it was brilliant as always.I can't think of anything else to say, I love anime films, and this one is very welcome in my little collection.I hope this review was useful.Now, about the film, I'm not a film critic, I can't say for others, I loved this film, it can have flaws, some people might hate it, but not me. I found it very cheap and lovely.

The movie didn't play on my player due to region error. The company apologized and refunded me completely without me having to send it back.Thanks!