Mamoru Hosoda is one of only a handful of anime directors with an Oscar nomination (his film Mirai was up for Best Animated Feature in 2018). Like his contemporary, Makoto Shinkai, he has been described as a “Miyazaki successor,” though he himself has no such delusions of grandeur. Hosoda tells furry-friendly stories about animal hybrids, kids with big dreams, and the joys and dangers of going on the Internet. His previous film, Belle, took these themes to a thunderous high, leaving me wondering how he could possibly drill for more in his version of cyberspace. Fortunately, Hosoda has decided to challenge himself by making a film that has nothing to do with the Internet at all. However, he is still attempting to use CGI in a way that is only a little beyond uncanny, taking away from the narrative and what could be some spectacularly animated fight scenes.
Scarlet is a dark tale of revenge, filled with violent sword fights, vengeful proclamations, and an enormous dragon that can obliterate anything that crosses its path. Our protagonist is a murdered princess trapped in a realm between life and death, hellbent on returning to the world of the living to avenge her father. Her villainous uncle Claudius seems to have found his way into this realm as well, trying to keep Scarlet from waking up and taking her rightful throne. Scarlet’s family aren’t the only inhabitants of this desert; souls from across time are wandering as well, including a kind paramedic from modern day Japan. Hijiri is sympathetic to Scarlet’s situation, but doesn’t want her to lose herself to bloodshed. Can Scarlet claim victory without perpetuating the cycle of violence that defines her?
Scarlet really gets the crap kicked out of her, first by poison in the real world, then by the legions of soldiers trying to knock her down in the afterlife. She is not the pure, perfect princess you may expect from anime. While I’m not in favor of violence against women (I should hope that’s obvious!), I feared that Scarlet would evade harm in a way that rang false. Fortunately for the narrative, but unfortunately for her face, this is not the case. She is blinded by revenge, unable to consider anything else. Though Hijiri is a bit of a wet blanket, he’s trying to help. Just because Scarlet can only think of violence, it doesn’t mean she should have to.
The CGI animation drags the film down, though it doesn’t look as bad as the trailer made it seem. The real world is standard 2D anime, but we aren’t there for very long. The land of the dead turns everyone in to 3D, cel-shaded models, which allows for larger crowd scenes and more dynamic camera movements during swordfights. There is a bit of an airless quality, but the uncanny nature of this death desert keeps things from feeling too cheap. A dream dance sequence set in modern day Japan feels most out of place, but this too serves the narrative. Doesn’t Scarlet deserve a normal life, free of violence? Of course she does – but the film shouldn’t lambast us for wanting to see her take revenge.
Scarlet is too much and too little, but not as didactic or weak as it could have been. I’ve long since stopped being impressed with CGI animation, especially in anime, but Hosoda is one of the only directors to do it well. Unfortunately, Scarlet doesn’t look nearly as good as Belle. Perhaps Hosoda can come up with something else Internet-based, where this 3D may be a better fit.
Scarlet
2025
Dir. Mamoru Hosoda
111 min
Opens Friday, 2/6 @ AMC Boston Common and AMC South Bay
