I am not an anime fan in general but I am a love story fan.
I was a little averse to the subtitles at first but once I started, it was easy to watch and really get into it. There are features in this film as deep as some of the most deep ones in American love stories and sci-fi. The concept draws you in immediately and if you pay attention, it starts to flow and flow and what a fun ride it is.
It uses some elements we have seen in a new way and the anime really helps to that end. I have to tell you that after about 5 minutes in, I forgot the characters were animation, they seemed real to me.
I found the two main characters charming. Again, I am not much of an anime fan. I have seen many of them but they aren’t my first choice. This would not only appeal to young lovers, like maybe those in love for the first time, but it will also rekindle those adolescent/young adult feelings in anyone who gives it a chance.
If you examine my history at IMDb or my own sites you’ll see I am not new at recommending films. Take it from me, this is an instant classic. The artwork is also way above the usually anime bar. Some of the special effects had to be done by paintbrush, or by hand however they did it. It was a feast for the eyes and the story did not suffer.
Having said all that, if you can’t give it your attention or you really have no interest to sit and watch subtitles, this probably isn’t for you.
Give this film your full attention as a love story with some sci fi elements and you will not regret it.
Apocalypse Now is based on “Heart of Darkness.” It takes place on a boat in Vietnam. The soldiers are lost in a lost cause war but they stumble on something far more sinister and evil. A living being created by the American war machine. There are parallels to Conrad’s book but both pieces stand alone as incredible vignettes of evil and the dark propensity of the human soul if left unchecked.
Brando is hypnotic to watch and listen to. What can you do when you have sympathy for the devil? The interplay of what we see as “moral” vs. “animal” makes this movie a trip. Should we assign guilt to those who are survivalists at all costs? If not, why do we murder them in war? These are questions that came up for me. I saw this as less a war movie and more or a moral drama. I really enjoyed it on that level.
The war images are still prevalent here. Almost every scene has an orange sky, alluding to the use of crop dust laced with Agent Orange to commit mass unbridled homicide against the Viet Cong. All is fair in love and war? You see the men uttering phrases like: “I love the smell of napalm in the morning,” upon waking. There is even a stud from San Diego with a surfboard who catches waves in between mass carnage. This black humor lays the foundation to look at what we do in the military on both sides and the dark hearts we must have to do it. The director, Francis Ford Coppola gave so much of his heart and soul to make this movie. 
A documentary called Hearts of Darkness shows some of the ghastly things the cast and director had to go through to get this filmed. It’s an amazing doc, I highly recommend it. Martin Sheen was so stressed filming he had a heart attack during filming. Fortunately he was able to get proper medical care and rest and he finished the film. If you are like me and don’t like war films but the idea of this “heart of darkness” being portrayed is interesting to you, I recommend seeing it anyway. The war images soon fade in the presence of a profound cinematic look at the human heart. What you make of that experience is up to you and your conscience. Are you more or Kurtz or Willard? For me it was tough to choose one over the other as good. In the end though, I made my choice. I recommend this film highly, a LOT of other movie critics do as well. This is of course, a classic of all time.
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