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| G.O.A.T (Greatest Of All Time): A movie that will stick with you and contains a near perfect dynamic between substance and style. |
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| Everyone is welcome at the movies. |
Every now and then a movie comes along to remind me that
movies are indeed, art, just the kind of art that doesn’t condescend. ‘Kubo And
The Two Strings’ is one such movie. It follows the story of a young boy, Kubo.
A musician/storyteller who uses his mother’s mystical shamisen (a three stringed Japanese instrument sounding not unlike a banjo) to bring his
origami characters to life, regaling epic tales of samurai, monsters and evil
spirits to his local village. Pretty soon though, Kubo realises that his
stories are not just fiction, and he soon finds himself swept up in an
adventure, that even he doesn’t know the end.
What stands out in 'Kubo and the Two Strings' is that for as
much as it might throw at you at the beginning of the movie, you’ll never feel
overwhelmed. Nothing is completely explained, but at the same time, it never
feels like it has to be. You pick up the rules as the movie goes along, and as
a result, it feels like a tighter film. There’s no time wasted with long
winded exposition, and you get to have a feel for the characters instead of
being bored. Last time I saw a movie take this approach, leaving you at the mercy of your own deductions, was 'Mad Max: Fury Road'
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| Weird that they'd want to emulate that... |
The way magic works isn’t important to the movie, what’s
important is the relationship Kubo has with his mother. She’s the only family
he’s ever known, and the source of his fantastic stories. Their relationship is
not the easiest, since Kubo’s mother is mostly nocturnal, reverting to a
vegetative state in the daylight. The movie’s portrayal of a child caring for
his disabled mother is moving, and you see everything that comes with it.
Frustration, burdening, with immense love and compassion. It’s hard not to fall
in love with Kubo.
Once you fall in love with him though, the movie will put
him in dangerous situation after dangerous situation. It’s how the movie
explores its underlying theme of fear. You fear for Kubo’s life, like a parent
to a child, but you also want him to overcome his fears, and realise his true
potential. The movie says “Growing up is scary, but not realising who you are
is even scarier.” Just ask Jean Valjean.
The way the movie explores those complex themes is through
some of the most visually stunning environments and designs I’ve seen this
year. The animation is the same as in films like Coraline, everything looks to
be made of paper. Amazingly though, you still get the sense of texture and
depth, just in a completely unique way. It’s also wildly colourful, and of
course, in a movie about a musician, music plays a big part. Even if the story
wasn’t an existential spiritual journey, it would still be beautiful.
It's also a very funny movie. You won't feel bogged down by the deeper subjects. Humour is a very important part of how the movie wants to explore its story. A lot of that comes from Kubo's companions, a talking monkey, named Monkey and a giant talking beetle, named Beetle. Monkey is wise and no nonsense, Beetle can't remember what he did last week, and walks around without the burden of purpose, evidenced by the hapless smirk constantly on his face, much to the ire of Monkey.
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| No longer are monkeys beholden to outdated offensive stereotypes. Unless there's a banana. |
There’s a lot more I could get into with ‘Kubo and The Two
Strings’. It’s definitely a movie that warrants conversation. Ultimately I’ll
just say that this was one of my favourite cinema experiences this year. Its
story is very simple, but that’s sort of the point. It’s a pleasure to look at,
and engages you with sequences that are nothing short of inspired. Weeks since
my viewing of it and I’m still thinking about it often. For me, it might just
be one of the greats.
Rating: G.O.A.T (Greatest Of All Time)
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