Watch Mind Game For Free

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Best movie of this year hands down!

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

This movie is to a human mind what solving a really complex formula is to a physicist: an eureka! What I mean by this is this movie has all the elements of a life changing experience. You go expecting another entertaining dime-a-dozen type of film but you come out bewildered instead. Okay sure maybe this is a bit of an overstatement but it deserves some overstating since it only gets a poor review of not even 8 stars here on IMDb. I decided to give it a full 10.I am not going to spoil the experience for you and I will just to sum it up in a few short words. This is the story of a loser named Nishi who bumps into his old flame while she's being chased by some bad guys. They eventually end up the girl's family restaurant where bad guys show up things go horribly wrong and everything changes for everyone.I found the little snippets in between the story to be most valuable rather than the story itself. Although you need to follow the story closely to understand the snippets. Is is the little things that count. This movie is a lesson. Maybe some sort of don't do what I did type of lesson I don't know. But whatever it is I feel is the only drug you can take visually. Enjoy.

Purely form over content anime that combines a variety of styles to tell the story(?) of a guy in love with a girl and the gangsters who chase them and the people they meet and...your guess is as good as mine since the film restarts and shifts and goes in out out of thoughts and hopes and minds. I can't describe it you really have to see it. Violent, sexually frank and with other material that people might find offensive (this would get an R rating) this is a film thats in your face and in your head. I kind of understand why this film was a big to do a few years ago since as an experience the film is simply overwhelming. I got to a certain point and wanted to raise my hand and say I'm full now. Actually I had to go through this in pieces since it was too much.Its the sort of thing that I wish was more readily available for people to see (I had to get a region 4 Australian DVD in order to see it) but at the same time I completely understand why it hasn't been released widely in the US and elsewhere, its a film that I think companies would have a hard time marketing with many people loving it and many more going "WTF?" Actually in saying all of that about the experience of seeing the film I haven't said how it it is. As a movie, or as a story its a mess. Its scatter shot and rambling taking odd turns in order to come up with great sequences, many of which look great but don't hang together. Its a film that leaves the audience wondering what in the hell is going on. Is it any good? As an experience yes, its great, I mean who needs drugs? As a story its up and down. I'm mixed. That said if you want an experience you really have to see this.

This film is beyond anything that has been made to date, both in Japan and the U.S. It is not a conventional narrative, yet the narrative clips along like a kayaker on speed. It seesaws from tight-tension drama to dreamy atmospheric visualscapes to video-game style song and dance routines! The overall plot is unimportant yet is completely engaging and satisfying. The characters come across as real people, and the shifts in perspective and personality heighten our understanding of each character as they face their ordeals. We get a sense of time both passing and standing still- which is the true mark of a genius of film: The ability to wrap us up in his concept of time and carry us along breathlessly. If you like shiny robots, plots about strange bio-computer viruses that mutate people into shiny robots, and silly relationship dramas about high school kids with strange powers, please avoid this film. If, however, you appreciate innovative stream-of-consciousness film-making, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants pacing, and so-sloppy-its-tight design, get yourself this DVD!!!! (Fans of FLCL take note!) Its hard to find in the U.S. right now (July 17th 2005) but it is poised to explode. An additional note of interest is the fact that Matthew Minami is the voice of the old man- Jiisan. (You may remember him from the clips of him interviewing Bill Murray on Matthew's Best Hit TV that were featured in Lost in Translation...)

And I thought the avant-garde style of animation and story telling was going to take its routinely long hiatus with the marvelous Triplets of Belleville, but I was fortunately wrong.After reading countless reviews, certain people proclaimed their dislike for this film with little to no elaboration given, which somewhat intrigued me and pushed me further toward wanting to experience Mind Game. As an avid follower of experimental cinema and anime I rarely get rewarded with solidly evolving features, but once in a while I strike gold and get to travel through the medium of rich expressionism dealing with both real life and fictional events in the utmost fascinating fashion. Mind Game is the recent treasure and a great example of such artistry, fusing stories of love, self worth and other qualities of life, without forcing conclusions or values, but merely giving you a chance to reflect on your life or simply enjoy that of the characters.The main conflict of this film deals with a young man named Nishi, who lacks courage to do what he really wants in life. After a rather fatal turn of events he gets a second chance at life and love. So he embarks on a journey to face things he otherwise wouldn't, but his personal rediscovery takes place in the weirdest of places. Aside from feeling a genuinely exalting rush with its almost mosaic imagery and perfectly fitting music, I felt something else while viewing Mind Game and I attained a certain notion afterwards, which I don't see worth sharing, since I believe everyone who'll give this a watch will acquire on their own terms, levels and depth.