Dir: Nakamura Takashi
Japan
2001
Colour
136min
35mm

Topnotch animator Nakamura's impressive portfolio includes Nausiica, Akira, Macross Plus and Catnapped. In A Tree of Palme, he conjures up a stunning fantasy universe, which is radically different from the current vogue of OVA. A cross between Pinocchio and A.I., it goes further than both to envisage an organic relation between nature, humans and robotics. Like the hero of A.I., Palme is a robot, except he's carved out of wood as a surrogate child, complete with strange pre-historic memories. Driven by love for the mortal Popo, he traverses the celestial, terrestrial and subterranean spheres, on a quest to become human.