Ghost in the Shell (15)

I'm not a connoiseur of anime but in my quest to learn a bit more about foreign cinema we've been watching a lot of Japanese and Korean films so thought we should delve into anime a bit as it's a very unique genre to the Japanese canon. Ghost in the Shell is a very talked about film so we put that on, having heard the animation itself is amazing in the sequel but you can't watch the sequel until you watch the original first.

This is a strange film. In the future the police and security forces are populated by cyborgs and people with mechanical implants to make their bodies stronger. Section 9 are involved with tracking down a hacker, also sought by Section 6, but Section 9 have reason to believe Section 6 are lying. This hacker is a threat to secret diplomatic talks with a recently overthrown government. Somehow, it transpires that the hacker has managed to animate a cyborg with his "ghost" or spirit and the cyborg at the heart of the tale wants to know how, as she has been questioning her own humanity, so in the midst of danger, she attempts to establish a mental link to the hacker.

It's rather convoluted and it took me a while to be certain I was following the rather confusing plot, but it does gel eventually just in time for a rather terse ending, which I suppose sets up the sequel nicely. If you like anime or are a fan of William Gibson you'll enjoy this film, although you've probably already seen it.