Reviews

May 29, 2012
Mixed Feelings
First review.

Tamala 2010 is pretty much what I would call an experimental movie, likely auto produced. As such, the movie possesses strong points and weak points, which makes it hard to give it an overall mark.

Looking for qualifiers, I first thought of "cyberpunk", but the visual simplicity makes it barely adequate here (compare to Tetsuo), plus the usual cyberpunk questionning of existence also lacks. Tamala nevertheless has a punk attitude, and is akin to a somewhat dreamlike SF black and white Happy Tree Friends (without the gore).

That said, the mix is quite effective, and would probably have been awesome if not for the lacks in direction/writing, with a cool but thin plot, cool but underdevelopped characters and an overlong moment which could have been splitted or handled differently. But then again, these things are secondary to an experimental movie probably realized with a very small team (2D Flash animation could have been done by 3-4 people), and shouldn't be judged with the usual anime eye.

Fritz the Cat was my immediate comparison, but Tamala 2010 isn't as talkative, or as thought provoking. Its strong point is the art, and the clever use of contrasts and colours, which made me wish more than once wish I had experienced it in a movie theatre instead of my laptop. The OST is another very strong point: through drones and pads it succeeds in setting various moods that keep the viewer entertained.

Overall, the parodic/symbolic elements inherent to punk entertainment (compare to Sunabouzu, Tank Girl) had a certain fun value, as had the visuals. So a lot of unrealized potential, but as far as experimental anime goes, an interesting experience .
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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