90
Where Okiura leads the art of animation into truly uncharted territory is in his character work, the precise behavioral strokes that bring people to life in two dimensions.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
40
The New York Times by A.O. Scott
Something to behold; it's just not much to watch, despite admirable ambition and a few tense, well-thought-out sequences.
50
Christian Science Monitor by David Sterritt
The story's emphasis is on action, but there are some sensitive moments and interesting ideas along the way.
50
New York Daily News by Elizabeth Weitzman
Dubbed for U.S. audiences, the film has suffered in translation.
80
A superbly crafted science-fiction fairy tale that's both Grimm and grim.
50
New Times (L.A.) by Luke Y. Thompson
It makes as good a case as any for the use of animation as a medium for serious, mature features.
50
TV Guide Magazine by Maitland McDonagh
Characters are undermined by the inexpressive animation that mars the majority of animated films: Their haunted inner lives are clearly meant to take center stage, but their faces are blank and two-dimensional.
50
Austin Chronicle by Marc Savlov
It's a gorgeous albeit depressing mess, as distancing and despairing as a realpolitik wipeout.
100
Seattle Post-Intelligencer by Sean Axmaker
The plot is often bewilderingly complex and the dense layers of subterfuge hard to follow, but by the climax the fairy tale has been twisted into a fascist fable of realpolitik mercenary opportunism.
75
San Francisco Chronicle by Wesley Morris
The film is built to quaver and buckle along with its victims and martyrs. In an almost soulful way, it bespeaks the reality lingering when the final fantasy ends.