Casshern comes a bit out of left field, a movie you'll watch wondering where you were when it originally came out in 2004. The answer is that unless you happened to be visiting Japan at the time, you weren't in a great position to see the movie. With support from Dreamworks, we finally get to view this substantial flick from director Kazuaki Kiriya. The promos on the box hype Casshern as comparable to The Matrix, but what's the real scoop? The comparisons I'd draw that are more realistic are between Casshern and Neil Gaiman's Mirrormask with some Sin City and Terry Gilliam thrown in for good measure. Casshern has a definite sci-fi bent, but there isn't much of a coherent sci-fi plot. Not much of a coherent plot emerges at all... but that isn't the point. Mirrormask was close to being a pretty bauble, nice to look at so we didn't question or consider the story. When movies look crappy, we are probably less forgiving in the same way we're more forgiving of escapist action movies. Casshern is full of action, but hard to classify as an Action Movie. The human side of the story runs deep and emotions are stressed regardless of the action on screen.

Part of what makes Casshern less coherent is that it has a dubious sense of place and time. We're pitched into what looks like Asia after a heavy battle that spanned Europe and Asia, maybe the world..? We hear about the robot armies of Europa and we see imagery that looks somewhere between Soviet and Maoist design. The world is gone dark and dystopian with lots of desperate people that are cut from the typical "have, have-not, or salaryman" bolts of cloth. Casshern emerges as a hero to renew the world and protect the innocent have-nots. It doesn't spoil anything to say that the character transformed into Casshern is a rebellious son and no surprise that his tinkering scientist father is responsible. After going off to join war and getting himself killed, the son returns in a casket and then somehow becomes the powerful being that we come to know as Casshern. The process by which this happens is somewhat mysterious and we get the sense that the son always had the capacity to make the transformation, but needed the motivation. The motivation he finds comes after a group of angry ultra-humans is created as a direct result of scientific meddling. And possibly an indignant god, but that's just my intepretation.

Casshern will be hit-or-miss with all but the most core Asian film buffs. The themes mentioned already are sprouted from any number of possible seeds. One has only to look back to Blade Runner for a similar theme of twisted humanity seeking to destroy its creator. The boy that becomes Casshern is bitter and disillusioned by what he saw during war, but still loves people enough to fight for them. He may have become a monster in the war but he isn't a monster at heart. The enemies that Casshern faces are distinguished by some over-the-top acting, but it isn't any more over-the-top than the behavior of the Replicants in Blade Runner. We come to see Casshern as battling a powerful force that is also "damaged goods." Only the ringleader of the meta-human band is unrepentant, but he also has an army of droids at his disposal... people with armies of droids can afford to be unrepentant, most days. There are probably Asian archetypes that explain the various characters in Casshern. Western viewers may draw some comparisons to a Biblical story like that of Ishmael or the Sumerian story of Gilgamesh and Enkidu. The former example highlights the "bad guy by default" aspect of the Casshern plot. The bad guys didn't want to be bad, but they were made and cast away and had no choice but to hate their creators. The latter example highlights the opposite nature of Casshern and his enemies. Many characters attempt to help the band of ultra-humans but there is no integrating them into society. Casshern is under attack from the ultra band and draws their ire by being the only force on Earth powerful enough to stop them.

The acting in the movie has its moments although the heavily stylized method of filming almost exclusively in front of a green-screen works against the actors. I especially like the way that Casshern seems to be fighting reluctantly. This seems in keeping with the idea that he is a force of good and opposite to not only the ultra-humans, but also the injustice of the society. He's as hurt as anyone on the screen and he never takes pleasure from pain. There are some really excellent action sequences, but don't come to Casshern expecting non-stop 21st Century kung fu fighting. The classic action sequence in the movie comes from a scene where Casshern faces off against an unending army of robots. Talk about a bull in a china shop... This is a great flick to queue up for a weekend or late night and it will no doubt find its way into the library of Asian film aficionados. Collectors may balk due to lack of any meaningful special features on the DVD - a shame they didn't put more backstory to help cement the fragmented plot. Casshern is well worth a look; it isn't exactly like anything else you've seen and it has some incredible sound, music, and camera-work that will stay in your mind's eye for a while.