anya46 - 2017-05-31 14:04:47

All this upside down stuff…. I feel sick

nickolas.gutmann - 2015-10-26 21:56:26

A movie which shows what it is like to feel and see what people who doesn't have the same vision and feelings as you do.

christiansen.ansel - 2015-05-08 06:05:43

kip77 - 2015-01-30 07:40:57

upton.milton - 2015-01-27 22:21:19

sakasama no patema

With fluid animation, a fresh premise and an excellent musical score this has to be one of the most captivating anime movies I've ever seen. I'd recommend this to anyone who's into distopian themes or simply fans of the weird and wonderful. - Personally I find this to be one of the freshest animated films of 2014. I definitely recommend!  

jaycee79 - 2014-09-03 01:38:59

lew.becker - 2014-09-01 14:23:31

Story

What would happen if two worlds collided with only one gravitational pull between them, causing a human disaster to happen and generations later after the incident were having to deal with their consequences of that experience? This film drives on that concept of intrigued innocent kids having to deal with the authority of adults and their rules of society and the unknown world they live in.

2 characters, both from each side of the gravitational pull and different backgrounds meet when their society doesn't want them to and see them develop their relationship, backgrounds and experiences together.

When the story unfolds, it seems like there are plots added in just to make sure the main characters don't die and creating a plot twist to solve that issue, therefore creating plot holes within the story and it's universe. However, this leaves intriguing ideas and theories that would be amazing to expand on with a sequel.

A back story is given at the start and during the film that links both main characters together. This story is very interesting in itself, like the main characters, both dream bigger and want to explore the unknown. This meant that those annoyed critical viewers would definitely liked to have seen that story rather than the one given to the viewer. And in some respects, I'm inclined to agree, the characters seem to be more fleshed out and also concentrates on their society's trying to go against their stubbornness dreams. However, I think this is because those characters in the back story are adults with more freedom and aren't afraid to fight for what they believe. They also end up not fulfilling their dreams, making this story that much more fleshed out and great to watch.

Animation

For a feature length film, nothing less than brilliant. Nothing was out of place or an eye sore to watch. It was well done from the small light molecules floating in the air in the big tunnel's entrance, to the smashed glass flying everywhere to the characters expressions. At certain points within the film, the camera spins 180 degrees, giving the viewer the perspective from both sides of the characters lives with gravity pulling against them. This is fantastic to see and wasn't out of place but helps with the story and the viewers and characters perspectives and opinions.

This film is visually amazing, with it's bland plain scenery comes some amazing huge landscapes that came out of nowhere, enriching the viewer more into the world.

Sound

Everything fits well together, leaving nothing out of place from the sound design, voice actors to the music. The music really helped the story, especially the characters interactions, creating some amusing relationships.

Characters

With this 99 minute film, each character is given just enough screen time for the viewer to make out their characteristics and personalities. However, with it's lack of overall screen time, each character, including the main characters aren't given enough time to fully express themselves and instead is concentrated in the story. Meaning that all the characters seem very flat, cliche and/or seen before in other shows or films.

Enjoyment

This film is brilliant. Every scene was a joy to watch. With "some" plot twists being really well thought out, great pace and character interactions and the amazing visuals bringing the viewer into the universe. I left this film with a smile on my face and with lots of thoughts of a potential sequel, which is all I wanted out of this film.

Overall

Like me, I assume most people have asked the question: what would it be like to stand/live upside down? This films not only answers that question but also expands on that question, making this film extremely entertaining viewing experience. The only "down fall" (ba dum tsss... sorry) is the run time. The story, the universe itself and the characters just aren't given enough screen time to fully develop and expand on, creating those plots holes and flat characters everyone seems to be frustrated about. However, the developers did a fantastic job with the pacing of the film and not making it overwhelming to watch. This on the other hand makes it easier to create a film or TV series sequel that would not only answer those leering plot hole questions, but expand on the story, universe and characters developments that is desperately needed. This film would have been better being a 60+ episode TV series that would have given the screen time needed to view this interesting universe.

In the end, I was thoroughly entertained and left me wanting more, making me not believe from what I've heard from people being biased critics. This film isn't perfect, but is underrated and I would recommend it to anyone for its incredible universe itself.

uhowe - 2014-05-18 06:30:41

I was much impressed by Yoshiura Yasuhiro's other major work, Time of Eve, so to say I was looking forward to this movie would be an understatement. The main idea behind Sakasama no Patema is that there are two societies, each of which perceives the other's world to be upside-down (holy perspective, Batman!). This story seed which drives the whole movie is either completely wonky or amazingly fantastical, depending on how you view it. I find that there's a thin line between the two. Sadly, I regret to inform you that I was disappointed by this feature. It wasn't a complete failure or anything, but I'm a viewer who puts much stock in great characters, and this movie is utterly lacking in that department.

Age is a boy from a regimented and maybe even totalitarian society. His government's leader, Izamura (a very cartoonish and unreasonable and unfleshed-out villain), goes on and on throughout the film about how the inverted people are sinners who were punished for their wrongdoings (what these were, he never quite elaborates on; suffice it to say, he does not consider the inverted people human). Age eventually meets one of the inverted people, a girl named Patema. Put them together, and you have one of the least developed pair of leads I've seen in recent anime films. I really cannot begin to describe how clumsily their back stories are related, and, on the whole, neither gives off a memorable impression. This movie really wastes some good visual character design on these cardboard cutouts.

The biggest failing of the movie is how poorly portrayed their relationship with each other is, and with the major people in their back story -- Lagos for Patema, and his father for Age. You get the sense the director and screenwriter knew that these relationships should be important for the film and for character depth, or else they wouldn't have included them at all, but you never get a true sense of why Patema loves Lagos so dearly (it can't simply be because of some presents) or why Age loves his father, or even why they love each other. I can't help but shake the feeling that Lagos and Age's father should've been the leads instead, and the story would've been better for it. The director and screenwriter seem to have settled for spectacle in this movie in the splendor of its art and backgrounds (which are grand, particularly the underground village where Patema hails from, which we sadly only glimpse bits of) at the cost of substance.

The only parts of the movie I found amusing or enjoyable were the ones that toyed with the perpetual upside-downness of the world, also known as the parts where the camera decided to spin around and make my brain go whoa! By spin I don't mean the conventional 360 degree field of vision. I mean the field of vision remains the same, but the shot revolves around the lens' axis. It's a cool effect, but sadly not enough to make a good movie. Act 1 squanders the runtime it puts toward clumsy character building, Act 2 tries to convince you of the strength of character relationships that aren't strong, and Act 3 has some ill-thought-out action which eventually leads to an ending that does not fully satisfy. The film ultimately falls flat and does not live up to the originality of its concept. Overall 5/10.

Art & Animation 7/10

Good visual character design. Bright, colorful. Great background art, particularly the glimpses you get of Patema's village. Animation is okay.

Sound 5/10

Cheesy music cues, bleh.

Story 4/10

Some plot holes. Never even tries to explain why some people invert and others don't, or how the gravity experiment led to this inversion in the first place. More importantly, the character stories fizzle.

Character 3/10

Cardboard cutouts galore. These characters even fail as archetypes. Plus, I think Patema's only written into the movie because they needed a cute girl and a shoehorned romance.... They could've told the story better with Lagos and Age's father as the leads. No development of the side characters. Villain is there just to be a villain.

Value 3/10

I don't think this movie will be remembered in twenty years by anyone, nor will it ever be a classic.

Enjoyment 5/10

*Grumble* Weak character relationships. *Grumble* Plot holes. *Grumble* Poorly characterized. *Gr-* HOLY SHIT DID YOU JUST SPIN THE CAMERA? DO THAT AGAIN! <----- If this movie is remembered for anything at all it'll be for these scenes.

collins.kellie - 2014-03-14 01:08:49

Well, this was a disappointment. This movie fell flat for me.

The basic story - two young characters from opposing sides come together and question why there's opposition there - has been done billions of times and this adds nothing new to it. The "high concept" for this is that the two groups have opposite gravity - what's "up" for one group is "down" for the other. This ends up just being confusing, though. I'm not the sort of person who demands that every technical aspect of a fantasy setting be revealed, but if you know anything about how gravity works (and even if you don't), this gimmick is too nonsensical to keep you engaged with the story.

That might not have mattered if it weren't for the fact that the characters are incredibly bland. It didn't feel like there was much thought put into them at all. They seemed copied from such basic stock.

And then it starts piling on the twists, which just raise more questions (i.e. plot holes). And chances are, you've stopped caring by then.

The visuals are good - they're what you'd expect from a feature-length anime film. The music was also good. It was used for some comedic effects at points, which was legitimately enjoyable.

Overall, though? This movie doesn't have much to offer. Sorry.