In an alternate history where Japan is ruled by an oppressive totalitarian regime, an officer in a counter-terrorism squad called the Kerberos Panzer Corps has his worldview shaken by an encounter with a young terrorist, leading him to pick his way through a web of conspiracies that lead right to the heart of the government…
After establishing himself as an animator and designer on the likes of Akira, Patlabor, Memories and Ghost in the Shell, Hiroyuki Okiura made his directorial debut with this dark, moody sci-fi thriller set in the rich, alternate-history fictional world of writer Mamoru Oshii’s Kerberos Saga. Putting as much emphasis on its vividly-animated, explosive action set pieces as it does on its brooding atmosphere and detailed, realistic character design, Jin-Roh is a grounded drama that has the rain-slicked melancholy of a film noir and the textures of a dystopian political thriller, with themes of oppressive regimes, romantic dreams of rebellion, and ultimately futile hopes of escape.
Ghibliotheque presents is a monthly screening series at the Prince Charles that showcases the best of Japanese animation. Each screening is picked and introduced by Michael Leader and Jake Cunningham, co-hosts of the animation podcast Ghibliotheque and co-authors of the Ghibliotheque Anime Movie Guide, which charts a path through the wildly creative and influential anime industry with 30 standout feature films, from Akira to Your Name.