Mind Game

Eschewing conventional animation styles in favour of something a little more wilfully expressionistic, Masaaki Yuasa’s waywardly enjoyable ‘Mind Game’ is a love story about Nishi; a comic book writer who is given a second chance at life after he is brutally shot (in the anus) by a bullying pro footballer. The rich textures of the animation gracefully fluctuate between surreal flights of fancy and tender, romantic whimsy,  with the bulk of the story taking place in the belly of a malevolent  whale. Produced by Studio 4°C (responsible for ‘The Animatrix’ films), it’s a fantastically executed assemblage of animated flotsam punctuated with moments of dry humour and a heartbreaking final montage which gives the film its message – make every moment count. If Jan Svankmajer ever considered a move to Anime, it may look something like this…