I figli del mare

Beautiful scenario and great soundtrack. Bring out the mystic feeling of the deep sea. However, the story is quite difficult to understand, a bit obscure. The original comic is better about the storytelling.

Almost a week after seeing this movie and I'm still trying to digest it, I'm honestly having a hard time placing my feelings for it.

The one thing I can say without a doubt is that Children of the Sea is absolutely stunning to look at. The animation on display here is like nothing I've ever seen.

My main hang up is the story. The characters are likable and the plot is intriguing, but it absolutely goes off the deep end in the last third and that's where my hangups lie. It becomes incredibly hard to follow which makes its ending not quite land the way it should have. Some plot threads don't feel entirely fleshed out, but are simultaneously wrapped around the plot at large to make them thematically relevant.

I think I walked away glad that I saw it, but it's going to be a hard sell to people I know.

As Ghibli studios pushed us into both Anime and Japanese Culture, Now, Ayumu Watanabe has pushed Japanese anime into exploring the meaning of life. Away from the stereotypical anime subcultures. A wondrous and life affirming portrayal of how connected we are with each other and that we are all sons and daughters of the stars. The depiction of inception, the biological miracle that comes with fertilization is a central theme. This is a cerebral film that can be enjoyed purely for its superb visuals.But understanding that science still cannot explain how the universe functions, and dark matter, you have to appreciate that art has a role to play. What a magnificent anime, film and thesis. If you do not understand it, be aware that this is deeper than you think. Enjoy the cartoons.

As evident from the majority of the reviews here, this film presents incredible and unique animation-- and a story line that will confound the best. It is beyond me why an entire production team would create a film that absolutely no one in the audience is going to understand. This is a very self-absorbed non-story that builds up all kinds of suspense and mystery, with zero delivery. That's not a spoiler; that is the essence of what (at this time) is stated in every viewer review.

There are so many strings left hanging here, with "clues" that go nowhere. Where did the boys come from? What part did the girl play? What did the computer data have to do with anything? What actually happened... at any time during the film? None of these questions are answered nor even close to answered. Perhaps the writer and director thought they knew what story they were telling, but one would have to be psychic to understand it. When a director stumps the entire audience... he's failed to understand the difference between art and absurdity.

I understand that art doesn't necessarily require a story, but it is so much better when it does. This movie is so "Zen" even a Buddhist Monk would be scratching his head. At least we don't see the typical, "I got it and you didn't nya nya" type of reviews... because everyone has had the honesty to admit, "I didn't understand a thing that happened here". Kudos at least to the reviewers who admit that this one is WAAAY over the audiences head.

Or maybe the director and animators had way too much weed easily available. Who knows? It was an interesting roller coaster ride, but in the end one can't help but wonder if the car actually moved.

I went to see this film, mainly because the French critics were rave and eulogistic. Do I have the right to be honest? I did not understand anything about this overly complex and dreamlike cartoon. This metaphysical fable immerses the audience in the deepest seas, in a stream of visually stunning but incomprehensible sequences. I managed to stay until the end hoping for an explanatory denouement. Thus, I left the movie theater both frustrated and disappointed.