Tekkon Kinkreet

Young, self-appointed heroes Black and White fight a valiant struggle to maintain the integrity of their decaying city when ruthless mobsters attempt to decimate the historic center of the metropolis and replace it with a trendy amusement park. Can Black's bravado and White's wits save the day? Stunning anime adaptation of the Taiyo Matsumoto manga stars the voices of Yu Aoi, Alex Fernandez. 111 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtracks: Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1, English Dolby Digital 5.1, Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1; Subtitles: English, French, Portuguese, Spanish; featurette; interview; audio commentary. In Japanese with English subtitles/Dubbed in English.

Tekkonkinkreet (2006) is a landmark in the increasing cross-pollination between Japanese and American animation: Based on a manga by Taiyo Matsumoto, the film was made in Japan at Studio 4C, but directed by American Michael Arrias. The story unfolds in Treasure Town, a scabrous metropolitan slum so gritty it makes the viewer want to clean under his fingernails. Orphans White and Black share an existence at the fringes of an already marginalized subculture. White seems naive, if not learning disabled: at 11, he can't tie his shoes or dress himself. But he has an uncanny sixth sense about what's happening in Treasure Town. Older, streetwise Black looks after White and receives the emotional support he needs in return: They're two halves of a damaged whole. The arrival of a murderous yakuza boss who wants to demolish Treasure Town and build an amusement park draws Black and White into an escalating spiral of physical and emotional violence. Although the ending of Tekkonkinkreet feels needlessly obscure, it's a striking and often powerful film from a first-time director. (Rated R: violence, grotesque imagery, brief nudity, alcohol and tobacco use) --Charles Solomon