Pompo the Cinephile Review
‘For who are movies made?’ This line of dialogue speaks to the central ethos around Pompo the Cinephile. After a year-long release delay caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the adaptation of Shogo Sugitami’s web manga by Takayuki Hirao (best known for his directing work on the God Eater franchise and the 2013 anime film Magical Sisters Yoyo and Nene) is finally set for a theatrical release this April. Pompo the Cinephile is a unique film, much owed to its unashamed usage of anime to tell a tale of live-action filmmaking. For a film that tackles a very technical and prosaic subject as its starting point, Pompo’s lean into anime-isms produces an idiosyncratic result: a bit of a tone-clash, if only in the most forgivably fun way.
Pompo the Cinephile follows the exploits of a young prodigy film producer, Pompo, who follows in her grandfather’s footsteps in the movie business of Nyallywood. On an inspired hunch, Pompo’s latest project involves her own script as the directorial debut of her executive assistant, Gene, and the headlining of unknown actress Lily. When Pompo pulls some strings to also attach the legendary retired actor Martin Braddock to the project, the result is a winding series of light, circumstantial reflections on the intuitive and unpredictable art of movie-making.
A lush, saturated color pallet illustrates the film’s world, everywhere from the skyscrapers of an alternate-reality West Coast to the Swiss Alps of on-location shooting. While there’s no explicit fantasy in the film, the bold shojo art style (surely traced from Hirao’s Yoyo and Nene days) imbues the inner workings of movie making with a dreamy quality. The plot is brisk and entertaining—issues of getting the right scene, editing trailers and films
Read more on gamerant.com
