Fasten your seatbelts before watching this movie, because this dream-like experience takes whatever pacing, comfort, structure and any resemblance of subtlety with regards to surrealism or symbolism you were used to from the show, and turns it on its head in order to create a fast-paced, hard-hitting and visceral experience.
*proceeds with gushing about this movie spoiler-free, hoping people will feel motivated to watch the series and then finally be able to experience this masterpiece of a movie for themselves*
Apparent is the focus on reimagining, interrogating and transforming of the series and its pivotal moments, characters, implicit and explicit themes, messaging & details from the 39-episodes-long show into a loose retelling as a feature-length movie format and it's nothing short of captivating, intriguing and fascinating.
I will take the liberty to declare this the gold standard for an adaptation from series to movie as the show is allowed to take on a new form here, creating an intriguing and fresh experience ripe with the possiblity for new insights and perspectives.
Visually, Utena was elevated to previously unchartered animation heights and I was speechless at how beautifully the world and the characters came to life in a new way. It's a stunning artistic marvel, the definition of "eye candy".
(The screencaps i've added this to review only offer a standstill, a glimpse of what you're going to experience.)
The creation and weaving of the soundtrack into the matter of this movie is astonishing, as it accompanies the mood evoked by the visuals to a T and fits the emotional and narrative cues precisely, proven by the reprises of the series' music, which are done beautifully and invoke the feelings from the show and put them into a new light, and seamless addition of fitting new musical pieces, which make this movie a treat for the ears from start to finish.
As a little side note, I noticed how the reprises and soundtrack overall were more subtle compared to the show's loud and encompassing tracks, which I find to be an interesting dichotomy as the movie visually moves rather quickly and even becomes frantic at times.
Overall, it's more unapologetically surreal, gay and with a more focused, explicit and fast-paced approach, this take on adolescence will take you on a journey and not let go until the credits roll, which I base on the fact that I was glued to the chair (and sobbing at one or two occasions, maybe) throughout the entirety of its runtime.
With all of this being said, I hope you'll feel compelled to watch this masterpiece of a movie and don't forget...
Viva la revolución!
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