...
... such artistic vision, and the patience, will and talent to execute them is astonishing. Sakupen, you are among the greatest flash artists I know of and with an such a range of different movies and themes... I really am utterly amazed at every new creation you bring life.
I can honestly say that I hope that some animation studio may, if this would be a destiny that you aspire to, find your work and vision and decide to give you a chance with a whole team behind you; I can only dream of the amazing things you may conjure.
But this is a review, not a statement of praise; I'll focus now on actually giving you feedback on the movie itself:
To begin, I get the feeling you were inspired, directly or indirectly by Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind, right? It shows very clearly in the themes, in the backstory and and setting. But no matter what the influence, you've made it your own, which is more than commendable, since it's such a difficult task to accomplish.
And what you do in this setting is incredible too. Ultima Speranza looks almost sad and contemplative, but not quite, something of a thinker and philosopher of a titan, if such a thing can exist. Whereas Nohta-Mutuay is very much the wild beast, with a hint of his true origins, that he is. To achieve such depth of character, by their actions and looks, is hard, very hard.
And the visuals in general are utterly, utterly brilliant. Sure, you over utilize the setting sun to draw things in black (which is easier to animate), but whereas most animators, when they do this, it's painful clear their intentions and it detracts towards the movie, in your movie it has the opposite effect: it contributes tremendously towards the atmosphere.
And sure, you utilize tweens that are somewhat obvious a few times; so what? Everything, and I mean everything (backgrounds, foregrounds, characters, the sun, the sky!), is so well drawn, detailed and vivid, in a pale, used way, that any flaws I find are mere dustspecks, trifles that should not and must not be taken into consideration.
I mean, let me just focus on a single aspect of the visuals: the camera angles. You constantly change them, choosing excellent angles through which we can see the events take place <and> you use dynamic camera angles. Both things are really, REALLY hard to do in a animation, the first because it increases the effort necessary by a huge amount; the second because you really, really, really need to get it right (and it's really, really, really hard to do so!), because otherwise it can ruin the whole movie.
As for the music; the music. Words fail me. No really, words fail me. The movie itself would not be the same without this extraordinary song you've composed for it; it makes it whole, it creates the atmosphere, it tells a story, it does so much, and yet is so simple. It may be the greatest single accomplishment of the whole movie.
Now, I've offered very little criticism so far, and you must forgive me for being unable to do so. I really wish I could tell you where you could improve, but honestly, there isn't anything I can say, I think. Any criticism would sound so much like mere quibbles, that I'm discouraged to offer any. Sorry.
So, to sum things up, this is an extraordinary movie, that demonstrates that your talent, patience, will and vision are among the highest I know of in this medium. I can only end by saying one thing: thank you, for this, past and, should you choose to do so, future movies.
