My mind is human. My body is manufactured. I'm the first of my kind, but... I won't be the last. We cling to memories as if they define us. But what we do defines us. My ghost survived to remind the next of us... that humanity is our virtue.
Third Screening. Vudu (which I guess now is Fandango). I've never understood the hate for this film, though I understand some of the objections to the vision of the screenplay. I think most of the criticisms of this film are much like the criticism of The Great Wall. They are from most people who have not seen the film and do not understand the context of the character. For example, both main characters are westerners injected into a foreign environment. Major is not Japanese. You could make a valid argument that the character was definitely Japanese in the first film and thus should have been Japanese in the reboot. You then would be tasking the production company with finding a Japanese actor fluent in English that had the same world market profile that Johansson does. Good luck with this. You could also make an argument that Major's costume design and particularly her hair and eyebrows look altered to fit an Asian. Of course, if you grew up in Asia maybe you would just dress like and do your hair like those around you. This type of cultural assimilation is practiced everywhere, and is pretty much demanded by the dominate white culture in America.
The visual aesthetic is in keeping with the Manga, and certain shots are lifted directly in homage to the original. Though the film is longer, it is not too long, and the plot, though different, moves in the same direction of the first film. This parallel happens to the audience's benefit. The aesthetic lifts a lot from Blade Runner and even the Total Rekall remake. I would think as we move closer to the danger and pitfalls of AI, that this film would become more popular, but it is looking like the reverse. At least the ratings are becoming more balanced instead of the hatefest that usually occurs - but then again the Letterbxd community tends to be more thoughtful and balanced.
There is something else, subtextually, going on in this film that I can only guess at. Japanese laws being what they are, Manga in cartoon and film is used as an expression to get out that which you cannot normally see. Hardcore pornography is banned in Japan, and lurid images are laughably scrubbed, digitized, and blurred to 'hide' what is going on. What this has led to is an attitude of 'well as long as we don't see-it see it, then it's okay. Thus, Major in the anime might as well be nude. Her artificial shell looking not like a human, not like a robot, but a sexualized imitation of male desire. This aesthetic is not alone to the anime, it is the preferred style due to the fetish-ization of the market audience. Anime has been greatly criticized for this, but usually by the same people who castigate studios for leaving out Michael Douglas eating out Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct - ergo, there is some hypocrisy going on.
The best aspect of this film is how Rupert Sanders and Johansson have chosen to lean into this aesthetic instead of run from it. Johansson has, by the release of this film, one of the most known physical figures in the history of cinema. If I had to compare it to anyone I would say how people oogled Marilyn Monroe in the 50's, or Sophia Loren (maybe Bridget Bardoe) in the 60's. You could write an article on how this is right or wrong or whatever but the fact is this is a connection the audience forms with the actors. In the 90's, waif was queen and the 'body style' that people came to react to was more in line with Kate Moss and Milla Jovovich. Jovovich's body became famous in '98 due to her role in the Fifth Element and consequently had no problems showing her body in subsequent films (though if you want her in total eroticism see her in Kuffs with Christian Slater where she is never nude). My point being here is Johansson' figure especially since The Avengers in 2012 in which her character Black Widow is covered in tight leather, is finger printed into the minds of a mostly male audience and she is familiar here. Thus, when Major takes off her cloak in the opening fight, much like in the anime, there people choking on their Adam's apple. Rather than run from the nude figure, the camera exposes much of it without revealing, like in the Japanese tradition, crude and some would say totally unnecessary vulgarity such as nipples or pubic hair (I should be clear here that I don't think it's vulgar or crude, rather the MPAA and a lot of audience members would). Johansson embraces this non-nude persona, much like the anime. it is this frankness, this boldness, I would say bravery with her figure, that gives her character agency and command, and propels the narrative, however flawed, forward. Her image gives you investment, and since we have been giving investment to beautiful women in film since Clara Bow, we shouldn't be ashamed about it, or be crude about it. The Seven Year Itch is a horrible fucking movie. Why did I sit through it? Well, I think you should give it a chance and perhaps you'll figure that out for yourself.
There is also another level to this subtext. Johansson unfortunately has been the subject of many embarrassing leaks over the years and she has stated in court filings how embarrassed she has been and in one statement described being 'humiliated' at such treatment. So when Major appears nude, then chooses to disappear at her own timing, Johansson is choosing when to show you her body, and choosing when not to. She is commanding an agency that has been stolen from her in the past, and I cannot help but applaud her for it. There were always be those images of her in the vast cesspool that is the internet, and I would be lying if I said I was unfamiliar with them, but I cannot help but admire how she has taken the narrative about her body back,
There are plenty of other practical reasons to appreciate this film. Who has ever complained of a role inhabited by Juliet Binoche? Certainly not me. Takeshi Kitano is a physical manifestation of Aramaki, the head of domestic intelligence. Chin Han, one of the most talented living Asian actors, fills a needed background. One one hand I feel conflicted about him playing second fiddle to Johansson. On the other she needs a circle of competent support for the story to move forward. No one gives more strength to this bulwark than the Danish actor Pilou Asbaek, who gives Batou a living breathing presence just as important as Major. Batou is so important to Shell's story, that he is actually the protagonist in Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, If Asbaek fails in his duty as Major's only link to the human world, the film falls apart.
Perhaps this is overpraise, but I enjoy this film. I keep coming back to it. I feel that it is compelling, and is ahead of it's time as we become increasingly wary of Alexa, Siri, and Chat apps. I think it speaks volumes about the trappings of these types of technologies, and contemporary attitudes regarding the controversial displays or at least modern ideas of nudity.