Hal The Movie Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Hal The Movie Blu-ray Movie Review

Fortunately, there are no pod bay doors that require opening.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 28, 2014

What serendipitous spark of genius made Arthur C. Clarke realize he could morph computer behemoth IBM into Hal by simply moving each of the initials in the famous acronym back one letter in the alphabet, thereby creating one of the creepiest “personal” computers in the entire annals of science fiction? The Hal of 2001: A Space Odyssey was so devious albeit personable that he was almost more of a human character than the tamped down, emotionally distant astronauts who soon found themselves pitted against him. There’s little doubt that scenarist Izumi Kizara is drawing on perhaps subliminal connections to the famous Kubrickian character in Hal, a fascinating if somewhat underdeveloped anime feature film that posits a robot named Kyuichi who assumes a human form named— well, Hal, in order to help facilitate the grieving of a young woman whose boyfriend perished in a calamitous plane crash. Though the ambience of Hal is undeniably futurist, the science fiction elements are actually shunted largely into the background in favor of a more intimate personal story that finds Hal attempting to come to terms with his new “human” (or at least quasi-human) identity while Kurumi, the young woman Hal is attempting to help, comes to terms with her loss in the aftermath of an unimaginable tragedy. This is a quiet, small scale film that probably could have benefited from a bit more explanation and elaboration, but which casts a very palpable if subtle spell on the viewer.

Films have mined the increasingly thin divide between organic human behavior and artificial intelligence in everything from I, Robot to, well, A.I. Artificial Intelligence. Hal blurs that line even further by having the robot “morph” into Hal, almost magically in fact (the film is rather undercooked in terms of providing context and background quite a bit of the time). Initially, the newly “born” Hal asks his creator, Doctor Aranami, what it means to “feel”, and yet the film has already shown the robot version of this character (which looks rather unsettlingly like a high tech Teletubby) reacting in horror when a plane bursts into flames overhead, setting the plot into motion.

That apparent discrepancy can actually be rationalized once this somewhat abbreviated film gets to what is supposed to be one of those earth shattering twists, but which is an element which may or may not withstand logical scrutiny. Hal therefore depends on a perhaps unnecessary sleight of hand to achieve the symbiosis between Hal and his robotic counterpart, and some viewers may feel slightly cheated by the revelations that occur in the film’s last ten minutes or so.

Until that point, though, the film has a really hypnotic if small scale power. Once Hal has assumed his human form, he starts to try to bring Kurumi out of her shell, or at least her room. Kurumi in fact keeps herself holed away in a tiny little cubbyhole that plays a bit like an anime version of Harry Potter’s room beneath the stairs. There are some quiet but observant scenes between Hal and Kurumi, and slowly a bit of anguished history is detailed, revealed by, of all things, a set of Rubik’s cubes.

But even here, Hal may be shortchanging its audience. When robotic Hal starts poking around human Hal’s back story, he gets some info, including a very brief vignette which seems to detail a bit of child slavery perhaps under the thumb of aliens, but things are so brief and underdeveloped that no really salient information is imparted. Hal could have been a mini-masterpiece with about 15 — 20 minutes of further content, and this is one particular plot point that certainly could have benefited from some expansion.

Hal hints at a lot of rather potent metaphysical and emotional elements, and gives some of them passing lip service, but simply doesn’t have the time to fully explore some of the subtleties of Hal’s sudden transformation from robot into quasi-human. But in a world of cookie cutter assembly line material being foisted off on the viewing public (including in the world of anime), it’s refreshing to get something this offbeat and interesting. Hal’s reach exceeds its grasp, but I for one am hoping that this is simply the first version of this story and that the filmmakers will return to flesh in (no pun intended) some of the fascinating material that’s only dealt with tangentially here.

Hal The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Hal is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of FUNimation Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. This is a frequently gorgeous high definition presentation, although the film has been intentionally stylized in a kind of soft, gauzy, almost quasi-Impressionistic way at times. Some effects like Kyuichi's robotic point of view are further tweaked with a kind of compass that surrounds the image (see screenshots 5 and 6). Colors are incredibly robust and varied, with everything from Kyuichi's sleek white robot body to brilliant blue skies to appealing purples and reds in sets and costumes popping extremely well. There are what appear to be some CGI elements woven into the film here rather seamlessly. Some of these are kind of odd choices, including a cart that goes down a street, while others, like a raging river that becomes part of the film's climax, benefit from photorealistic rendering. Aside from some very minor banding, there are no other serious issues to report, and from a visual perspective alone Hal is pretty spectacular.

Hal The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Hal features Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mixes in the original Japanese and an English dub. Both of these options are largely interchangeable with the exception of the voice work, and the good news is that there's abundant and consistent surround activity throughout this short film. Right off the bat, with an underwater sequence that shows Kyuichi trying to catch an errant fish, there's a lot of detail to immersion (no pun intended). Dialogue is very cleanly presented, and a couple of set pieces, like a big festival and, late in the film, a showdown in a huge downpour, offer good opportunities for nice surround activity.

Hal The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Actor Commentary features Mike McFarland (ADR Director) moderating separate chats with Chris Burnett (Hal), Bryn Apprill (Kurume), and Bill Flynn (Aranami).


• Making Of: Production Process (1080i; 11:10) focuses on aspects like storyboards. In Japanese with English subtitles.


• Making Of: Animatics and Scratch Tracks (1080i; 6:17) shows what happens after storyboards. In Japanese with English subtitles.


• Original Trailer (1080i; 1:13)


• Textless Closing Song (1080p; 3:23)


• U.S. Trailer (1080p; 1:18)

Hal The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Hal is an incredibly noble effort, and simply by dint of the fact that it doesn't recycle hoary clichés at every turn I'm willing to cut it a bit of slack that I might not otherwise. That said, things are simply too short, too rushed and too underdeveloped here for the film to really fully explore its subject and, more importantly, make an emotional connection with the audience. There are several key elements here firmly in place, and I for one really hope that the filmmakers return to this project to fill in some of the missing (or at least unexplained) information. One way or the other, there's quite a bit here to enjoy, even if the twist doesn't quite cut it as the mind blowing gambit it's obviously meant to be. Technical merits here are very strong (especially the video), and Hal comes Recommended.