i just came back from tree of palme:

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well, tree of palme instantly became one of the best anime i've seen... visually breathtaking, riveting landscapes and flora... even when the plot dragged a bit, my eyes were glued to the screen.

stylistically reminded me of this french comic artist by the name of jean "moebius" giraud, very clean lines, plain colours; very very surreal.

a big headfuck in terms of storyline(s)... so many sub-storylines happening on different levels: dealing with desires, loss, failed dreams, innocence, love and yearning... ironically all interweaved around a non-human puppet as their focal point.

the film developed the protagonist, palme, very nicely at the beginning though some might have found it slow. however, 3/4 into the movie, i thought it became rather "clumsy": when he started displaying somewhat mercural personalities which might have been inferred but no catalyst was readily recognised.

the female character, popo, became the focus, and at times, obsession of palme: she was the one who snapped him out of his initial fugue state, and later on, became his anchorpoint as his mind and body dissolved. i thought she could've been "fleshed out" more. she had her moments... when she rebelled against her mother, asking if she was just her puppet, seconds after palme was kicked aside as an inaminate object.

shatta, one of the supporting cast, is an abandoned street kid, leader of a band (who provided comic relief) dreaming of taking over the flamingo. he was introduced as a mercenery character who saw palme as a source of money. the flim sees him change and slowly make an about-turn, supporting palme in his quest. shatta never belonged wherever he was; in search of his mother and made peace with her in palme.

which brings us to koram, whom shatta searched for, the mother who abandoned him, who, in turn, was abandoned by her father. a restless and i hazard to say, vindictive/vengeful soul. she started the chain of events which saw her attaining and losing her life, for what her brothers and father could not do, to prove her worth. that was then entrusted to palme to finish the task which made him cross paths with shatta. full circle.

the tamas tribe... the portrayed "bad guys" in the film... they themselves innocents, victims of a god who has forgotten and cast them aside for something, better. the influence of moebius is most evident in the way they were drawn, their clothes and technology.

what i've written does not begin to describe how mind blowing tree of palme is, when u sit in darkness fully submerged in an alien, surreal and vaguely familiar dream, rifed with undercurrents of emotional distress and innocent joy.

a very poignant and beautiful journey.