Friday, September 15 11:59 PM RYERSON
A captivating animated vengeance tale that uses live footage for recorded events of the past.
Briefly, Christina and August are orphaned by a car accident and events slowly lead Christina down the path of becoming a world-famous porn star. August condemns her for her descent into depravity and becomes a missionary. She dies before her 30th birthday, leaving behind Mia, a 5 year old girl.
August returns to take guardianship of Mia, who has obviously suffered abuse. This begins his spectacular one-man crusade of vengeance and destruction against the people who continue to profit from his dead sister. "Princess" was her screen name, she's what made the company Paradise Lust what it is. Her boyfriend Charlie is the owner. All three of them lived in the same apartment after the car crash and before they'd all started down the paths that lead each of them to where they are today.
At the end of the story we're left with a huge number of people that were happy to profit from or otherwise enjoy Christinas life, Charlie who seems to regret that he took her down the path, her daughter who alternately misses her and hates her, and her brother who condemned her but ultimately destroyed her "legacy" in an inferno of vengeance. And apparently not a single person who tried to help her to avoid her fate. Which I found to be a stunningly powerful conclusion to what could have otherwise been "merely" an action-filled story.
This is exactly the kind of thing that animation is perfect for, things you just can't do live. An impressive first feature, I'm glad I saw it.