Anime fandom is something of an enigma to me. While there are examples of the genre that I very much admire – Katsuhiro Otomo’s “Akira” is an incredible film, and I don’t think I’ve seen anything by Hayao Miyazaki (“Spirited Away,” “Princess Mononoke”) that I haven’t enjoyed – I consider them to be just another set of foreign animated films, and I appreciate movies such as French director Sylvain Chomet’s “The Triplets of Belleville” on the same level.
However, I have known many people who go absolutely crazy over the idea of Japanese animation, and those people have especial cause to rejoice! For at midnight tomorrow, Saturday, January 21st, Baxter Avenue Theater presents an early screening of the film “Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos,” a continuation of the very much acclaimed anime series.
“Fullmetal Alchemist” was originally a manga series set in a world where alchemy is very much a real science. It tells the story of Edward and Alphonse Elric who attempt to resurrect their dead mother, but instead end up tearing apart their own bodies. They set out to search for the Philosopher’s stone to heal themselves.
The manga was adapted into a television series of the same name which didn’t much follow the plot of the book. This was followed by a film continuing the events of the series. Following this, a reboot of sorts occurred with the series “Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood” which retells the story but follows the book more closely. Tomorrow night’s film, “The Sacred Star of Milos” is a continuation of “Brotherhood.”
Although, I suppose that most people who are interested probably already know all this.
One last important bit of information: unofficial word is that the film will be screened in the original Japanese, with subtitles, as opposed to being dubbed in English.
Baxter Avenue Theater is located at 1250 Bardstown Road.
Image courtesy of the Internet Movie Database.