Reviewed by David Zuzelo 2000 – Japan
Directed by Keitaro Motonaga Artsmagic DVD US NTSC Code O
In a world populated by stiffly animated sextoys and strange examples of neo-biological monstrosity, a beautiful doll named Malice finds herself seeking a repair that instead pushes her forward on the evolutionary ladder from machine to something…more. Seeking to help her fellow dolls and robots, she blesses them with life… or is she infecting them with a disease they cannot possibly tolerate?
Malice@Doll is animated, and it is Japanese as well, but with the language of anime and manga becoming absorbed into global pop culture, this is an interesting sidestep that may disappoint some viewers seeking more of the same. However, it can be a fascinating trip for fans of thoughtful and outrageous cinema, sharing more common bonds with the works of Jan Svankmajer and Bruce Bickford than anything produced by Hideki Takayama’s fevered hentai works.
The story is simplicity, a strange reworking of a doll becoming human and learning to deal with feelings. But instead of simple morality plays, instead it confronts ennui, sexual lust and deviant behaviors-as well as the simple desire to feel…anything. Along the way, Malice interacts with a wild world of mutation and aberration that sucks her down into each dolls reaction to becoming alive. Violence is born of anger again in a world of machines that could not feel and pleasure becomes a near Cthulian delight. Sure, no matter what the context, tentacle sex finds it’s way into this adult feature, but I would hesitate to call it hentai as the intention of the sequence seems far from erotic, either in a dark fantasy way or as a simple chuckle grabber by producing such an odd sight for the audience.
Malice@Doll will keep the viewer guessing as to what could come next, while unleashing bizarre images. While it works as entertainment, it certainly does become borderline pretentious nonsense with it’s methodical pace—which again may alienate viewers looking for anime excitement or hentai thrills. But that is what makes it an achievement in CGI animation from Japan that exceeds films like Final Fantasy in boldness. While not even close on a technical level to the best CGI, it is well used and manipulated to create an effect all Malice’s own. In the films most disturbing sequences, it’s quite beautiful and can envelope the viewer into its world with an ease that is surprising. All the tools in the animator’s toolbox are used with a firm hand and wisely from its music to pictures to pacing and timing this is more an experience than a movie. For open-minded viewers this is a trippy slide through sexbots and slugs well worth taking.
The DVD from Artsmagic looks quite nice, though it is hard to tell if the darkness and artifacts are part of the original program or not, it gets quite muddy in some spots, but seems to suit the material just fine. Included is the original Japanese dialogue as well as a very serviceable English language edition. Also, there are several trailers, interviews with the creators (which are quite good), sleeve artwork and a lecture format history of CGI animation, which isn’t terribly compelling, but worth a listen for any viewer that wants to hear the basic concepts hashed over. Overall, a nice package for a very unique movie that would be hard to discuss in anything but abstracts—making the extras package quite challenging.
Expect the Unexpected and kiss the doll… you might be surprised at what you become.
FILM: 3 Shiny Doll Tears PICTURE: 2.5 Shiny Doll Tears AUDIO: 4 Shiny Doll Tears EXTRAS: 3 Shiny Doll Tears OVERALL: 3 Shiny Doll Tears
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