I’m a fan of something called Anime (Japanese Animation). While many people in western cultures feel that animation is only for children, in Japan they have broadened the scope of animated films and videos. A large section of Anime is geared toward adult audiences.
What brings me to this topic today is an Anime called “Flag,” which I just recently picked up. It’s a 13 episode series on 4 DVDs about photographers and field reporters. For more information visit the Wikipedia entry as well as the licenser in the USA store page.
Here is a short clip someone put up on youtube:
The series is primarily in a documentary style, where a large percentage of the scenes are shot first-person in either of the two main character’s points of view. The primary character is a young female who has taken steps to expand her photography by getting into the thick of a foreign conflict. She creates a captivating image of a sect’s flag that becomes a symbol of peace. Later we see that she returns to the area, but this time with the equivalent of a UN special operations force to document their struggle in retrieving the physical flag as it was taken by an unknown force. Her friend is also in the same area, but is reporting in the main city whilst providing his own point of view.
While the point of view, style, and slow pace of the video certainly take some getting use to, I’m at the midpoint of the series and am enjoying it a lot by this point. It brings up questions, thoughts, and ideas related to photography, which I find interesting as I’ve felt the same at times as these characters have. So if you are into documentary style films, particularly about photographers and photography, this might be something you want to rent or buy as videos like this are hard to come by.