Anime Digest
“Pompo: The Cinephile” is a sweet yet heartfelt anime of which we can also be a part. Joelle Davidovich Pomponette (Pompo-san), a successful film producer at the movie capital “Nyallywood,” mostly makes B-grade movies with silly stories a blockbuster hit. “As long as the lead actress looks attractive, it’s a good movie,” producer Pompo, tells her hardworking assistant, Gene Fini whenever he gets doubts about Pompo’s way of choosing scripts. Gene Fini always dreamt of becoming a director in the movie industry. His passion and hard work while doing the assistant job are eye-catching. One day, Gene happened to see a script written by Pompo-san and got impressed by the story. Gene is given the task to direct this as a film by Pompo-san. Will Gene be able to bring Pompo’s “masterpiece” to reality? Watch the anime to find out more.
The Feel-Good Part
Though the whole movie is an anime, we still feel connected to the characters in it, especially the character Gene Fini. The rawness and bluntness of this character gradually take the front lead along with the character Pompo-san. The doubtful and pessimistic character of Gene Fini and his concerns are well described in this movie.
As the movie progresses, the character Pompo-san becomes the shoulder of the story, who carries the head of the story forward. That was a smooth transition where the audience can also glide through the same.
As the audience, we could only get to see the big picture, but the hard work, passion, and dreams of a lot of people behind the picture are still vague to us. This anime lit the light through the passionate way of filmmaking.
Pompo-san is a producer with a keen understanding of the people around her. She can see through the actual potential of the people. Gene Fini, the hardworking assistant of Pompo-san once told by Pompo-san’s grandfather that she chose him as her assistant because he is talented. Nathalie is a very simple girl aspiring to be an actress, also chosen by Pompo-san.
The dialogues and the narration of the whole movie are smooth and interesting, including a well-detailed animation that added charm to this movie.
The Disappointing Factor
We don’t feel much of a disappointment in this anime, apart from the realization that the character Pompo-san is actually like a canvas where the story of Gene Fini is painted.
In-Depth Analysis
Pompo-san, despite looking young, has deep knowledge about the movie business and is also a keen observant of talent, is an established B-grade movie producer of Nyallywood. Gene Fini, a person with droopy eyes, works hard to understand the craft, under the guidance of Pompo-san. Gene always considered him as not worthy and non-talented, but his thought process came to halt when he got to know that he was chosen by Pompo-san because he is talented. Pompo-san tests Gene Fini’s talent by making him do a teaser for her movie and it came out well which again strengthened her trust in Gene’s talent.
Gene Fini accidentally read a script named “Meister” written by Pompo-san and was extremely impressed by it. There is a scene where Pompo-san again tests Gene to know about his outlook on that script. His answers and impressions made Pompo-san hand over her script to him for his directorial debut. Nathalie Woodward, a humble girl who dreamt of becoming an actress has been chosen as the lead actress alongside the famous actor, Martin Braddock. The naïveness and nervousness of both Gene and Nathalie are neatly displayed on the screen.
This film put forth the different aspects of the idea of filmmaking. A script can be made in different circumstances, like in the movie, Gene asks Pompo if a script can be made specifically for a person.
Star Power
Takayuki Hirao, the director of “Pompo: The Cinephile”, has done a fantastic job altogether. The anime is like a delicious buffet where we get to see creative animations highlighting every minute expressions and turmoil of each character along with strong dialogues. The sound ‘Nyaa’ in Nyallywood” means Cat’s meow in Japan. The director specifically represented the cat in several parts of the movie.
Overall Opinion
“Pompo: The Cinephile”, is an amazingly directed anime dealing with the fruitful result of hard work and passion. This movie is a treat for all those who love anime as well as for those who are passionate about films and filmmaking.
