Cowboy Bebop: the Movie

[M Arnold]

I rented this on video in Tokyo last summer, and "cool" as it was I can't
say it took my breath away.  The story does have some interesting racial
subtexts that held my attention though.  The film is set on Mars in the
future--actually a thinly veiled re-imagination of New York, complete with
World Trade Center towers in a few shots, drug dealing Middle Easterners (I
believe Mickey Curtis played the voice of the main "foreigner"), "Indians"
(reminded me of the Japanese advertising/TV drama trend in Native Americans
a few years ago) and tough white guys.  The story makes references to
bio-terrorist attacks and something like the Gulf War, and I remember one
scene that looked nearly like a reenactment of the Yoshihiro Hattori
shooting incident.  All things considered, I am just a little surprised that
this is getting a theatrical release in the States.

The trailer says, "You're about to experience the cultural phenomenon that's
sweeping the nation."  Uh-huh.  Both of the major Seattle weeklies were
lukewarm about the film.

Michael Arnold