POMPO THE CINEPHILE – Review

Alright, who’s ready for a movie about making a movie? Pretty tired idea, eh? Sure we’ve seen recent flicks about the making of several classics, from CITIZEN KANE to PSYCHO, even THE ROOM. Why there’s now a streaming miniseries about all the effort to get THE GODFATHER made. Well, this flick’s got a couple of twists. First, it’s about a movie that’s not legit (kind of like the Rick Dalton movies of ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD). Oh, and here’s the second, really big thing: it’s an animated feature. Specifically, an anime based on a manga originally serialized online. How’s that for “something completely different”. Plus the film title actually refers to this film’s producer, not the director or star, who is known as POMPO THE CINEPHILE.

So, where is she known? Pompo (voiced by Konomi Kohara) is practically royalty in the movie capital of the world, Nyallywood (hmm) where she is part of a dynasty, the teenage granddaughter of the founder of Peterzen Picture Studios. Of course, she’s hired lots of folks to help produce her big-budget (bur “B” in spirit) blockbusters starring the blonde “screen queen” Mystia (Ai Kakuma), the main one being the shy, nervous film fanatic Gene Fini (Hiroya Shimizu). That is, until one morning when Pompo stuns him by giving him the chance to direct her screenplay “Meister”, a somber drama about an artist getting back his creative spark. Oh, and it will star reclusive acting icon Martin Braddock (Akio Otsuka), who has been lured out of retirement. He’ll be back acting opposite an unknown, an aspiring actress Natalie Woodward (Rinka Otani), who Gene has adored from afar. After the footage has been shot, Gene toils for countless hours in the editing suite, only to realize he needs one more scene. But the premiere date looms, and Pompo has run out of money. Luckily Gene runs into an old classmate, Alan (Ryuichi Kijima) who has gone into banking, though he shares a love of cinema. Can he convince his bank’s stuffy board of directors to take a chance on what could be a movie masterpiece? Or will Gene be overseeing another Mystia action extravaganza?

Well, this is a big departure for animated features as it uses the medium (not a genre) to satirize and comment on the current state of cinema, while still establishing a whimsical fantasy “dream-world”. Its take on “Tinsel-town” is that of a wild and wonderful pastel and candy-colored utopia, although Natalie (nice nod to a screen legend) most take lots of menial jobs (but nothing seedy). Sure, it’s pretty much all-ages even with the scene of a giant octopus nearly squeezing Mystia out of her too-small bikini top (another nice nod, perhaps to Jessica Rabbit). The character design mixes fairly realistic-style looks (think the superhero toons) of Braddock and Pterzen with the wild, manic manga types (Gene and Nat) with large open mouths and exploding water beads. On the other hand, Pompo herself appears to be a mix of Sailor Moon and Pippi Longstocking (her braids and pigtails are fluffy and billowing). Credit is due to director Takayuki Hirao for finding a way to make software film editing cinematic as he pictures Gene in a bright-neon glow dreamscape fighting a celluloid hydra by brandishing a scythe/machete (maybe a Klingon mace). And as I mentioned earlier, the pace is frenetic, whipping back and forth through time and (inner) space, but it’s never confusing. Oh, I do whole-heartedly agree with the big cinema secret revealed in the final moments. Maybe we could use a few more studio heads who sympathize with the audience like POMPO THE CINEPHILE. And that’s a wrap!

3 Out of 4

POMPO THE CINEPHILE opens in select theatres everywhere and screens exclusively in the St. Louis area at the Marcus Ronnie’s 20.