Pompo the Cinephile - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Pompo the Cinephile



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


​

Movie
I think it goes without saying that MOST of us here are cinephiles to some degree. We’re kind of the elite geeks of the world, obsessed with home theaters, audio, lotsa bass, and generally a love for film. I know for a fact that being a cinephile was the main reason I even started reviewing films to begin with. I grew up watching films like Lawrence of Arabia, My Fair Lady and countless other classics from a very young age, and that love for film spilled over into my adult life. Well, what happens if we make a movie ABOUT making a movie in a sort of love letter to hollywood and the film making process? Well, that’s exactly what the Manga writer Shogo Sugitani did in written form, and what Takayuki Hirao has done in film form us today with Pompo the Cinephile.

Pompo happens to be a B movie film producer, having come from a long line of film makers over the years. Her bread and butter is making Cannon Film esque movies with her main actress Mystia. Show some skin, show a monster, blow things up, and make a quick buck. However, Pompo is sort of tired of making cliched cash cows and really aspires to produce a film with heart and feeling. Thus she pens a script about an aging musical genius and his young muse that resparks passion into his life. Passing on all the go to directors that she has employed, Pompo goes straight to Gene, her mousy executive assistant who is NOT your typical choice to direct a film.

Letting him have his way with the script, Pompo unleashes the hidden creativity found within Gene, allowing him to pull out of his shell and draw on his own life to create a film. While the story may seem to focus on Pompo (who should be called a Mogul rather than a cinephile) and Gene for the most part, we get to see the creative outpouring of newcomer Natalie, cash cow Mystia, and even the Marlon Brandoesque Martin Braddock as the veteran actor coming back for one final film. It’s very obviously a love letter to the entire act of making a film, and it’s fascinating to watch the story go from light hearted comedy to full on drama as the blood sweat and tears of the cast and crew are shown on screen. As the audience we get to bask in the glory that is Hollywood (Nyallywood in the film) and the magical world they portray to us, but many times we don’t see the absolute grueling repetitiveness and plain hard WORK that goes into a film.

At first glance this would seem like a boring production. A movie about the daily grind of MAKING a movie. It doesn’t sound that interesting, but Takayuki Hirao does a masterful job of pulling from multiple different angles and allowing the viewer to see the hard work and intense passion that film makers pour into their productions. Gene is absolutely riveting as the hard working first time director, and his sheer intensity and passion are literally almost touchable on screen. The same goes for Pompo, who is a brutal wall of sheer emotion and exitement, but still vulnerable enough to show her more serious side when she’s negotiating for financing, or struggling to keep the actors and crew in one place. Natalie and Mystia are also fantastic foils as well. Natalie is the perfect “newbie” who is struggling to make her way in the world of acting, and coming up short as she realizes that she just has to make that ONE big break. Mystia, on the other hand, has already made it as an established actor, and while it may seem glamorous and glitzy on the outside it soon becomes obvious just how much she’s sacrificed and how much she has to WORK at keeping her fame in the public eye. It’s a great juxtaposition and puts a slight damper on the overly glamorized view of Hollywood that permeates so much of the viewing population.

The movie struggles a bit in the 3rd act when we get to the investor meeting, but I think that might have been a necessary movement as it’s almost a bit too over the top and saccharine sweet. I guess if they showed how brutal and HONEST those finance meetings are most people who come out feeling depressed rather than uplifted. But at the end of the day, Pompo the Cinephile is a sweet and passionate film that is a fun little love letter to the entire creative process of making movies. I certainly enjoyed it way more than I expected, and felt it was the perfect relaxation film vs. a highly thought provoking fantasy or epic like we’re used to in the Anime film world.




Rating:

Not Rated by the MPAA




Video:

Presented in 1.85:1, the AVC encode from Shout is absolutely superb. A hefty VBR encode with spikes up to 40 mbps reveal an incredibly lush and vibrant hand drawn image. The line art is absolutely beautiful, with a fluid sense of motion, rich colors that range from pastel blues and pinks to bright cherry red coats and glimmering gold at the flip of a switch. Details are absolutely mind blowing, as the hand drawn animation leaves nothing to the imagination. My only real complaint is that darker shots and dark images against a bright background DO show some minor to moderate color banding. Not enough to really be problematic, but it is there, especially in the latter act of the film as Gene is sitting in a dark room editing the film. All in all, this is a great looking image and delightful traipse back in time to when hand drawn animation was the default standard.









Audio:

However, the rest of the mix is utterly superb no matter what language track you choose. The film thrives off of tons of dialog, but also imbues a ton of ambient noises into the film, ranging from Gene crashing and smashing keys in frustration as he tries and edits it down to a reasonable size, to the rushing of wind as the two leads in the film take a country stroll. The music is highly intense and fills the surround and LFE channel with a ton of activity. Bass isn’t exactly super necessary except for a few crashes and bangs, but it compliments the score a good bit and adds some weight when necessary.












Extras:

• Director's commentary
• Trailers and TV Spots
• Feature Length Storyboards
• Character DesignGallery

Final Score: ​

As I said above, I had no real expectations of the film when I requested it from Shout, except for the fact that it came from a highly respect manga, and was described as “a love letter to film making process”. I came out of the viewing experience with a huge smile on my face and this flushed expression from the sheer fun of watching a movie unfold in real time. Shout’s Blu-ray encode is top notch, and with some moderate extras makes for a completely light hearted and enjoyable watch for any cinephile.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Ai Kakuma, Konomi Kohara, Hiroya Shimizu, Akio Otsuka
Directed by: Takayuki Hirao
Written by: Shogo Sugitani (Manga), Takayuki Hirao
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, Japanese DTS-HD MA 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, English
Studio: Shout Factory
Rated: NR
Runtime: 95 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: July 12th, 2022

Recommendation: Very Fun Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Never heard of this but now, will check it out.