Dante’s Inferno is an anime that has been adapted from EA’s upcoming video game of the same name. The game itself is an adaptation of the first part of The Divine Comedy, Inferno. The Divine Comedy, written by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri, tells of the poets fictitious journey through the Inferno (Hell), Purgatorio (Purgatory) and the Paradiso (Heaven or Paradise). It is considered to be one of the greatest literary works in history, and rightfully so. The epic poem is full of some of the most descriptive writings on what the christian Hell, Purgatory and Heaven may be like. It is also filled with the political and religious torment Dante himself had to face in his life. This extremely loose adaptation twists the narrative and intent into an almost unrecognizable story.
The Movie
The animation opens with Dante, a knight of the Crusades, returning home from battle. As Dante enters his home, he finds his father and servants murdered. Behind the house he sees his fiance, Beatrice, on the ground, dying. As he holds her in his arms, she asks if he had remained true to her. As he proclaims his love and faithfulness, she dies. Dante witnesses her soul exit her body and begin its ascent to Paradise. Before her soul can reach the heavens, the shadow of Lucifer appears, proclaiming Beatrice’s soul his due to Dante’s lies and betrayals. Lucifer drags her soul across the landscape to the entrance of the Inferno, Dante following closely by.
As Dante faces off against Lucifer’s demons at the gates of hell, Lucifer drags Beatrice into the Inferno, shutting the gates behind him. As Dante struggles to open the gates, a series of demon hands rip open his uniform and sew a crimson cross, portraying the sins of man (or the sins of Dante, it’s never really clear), onto his chest. As he lies, defeated, a spirit appears. It is the apparition of the Italian poet Virgil. Dante begs Virgil to help him enter the Inferno, and guide him through it in the hopes of finding his beloved Beatrice. Virgil tells Dante he has the power to open the gates himself, but that he will help Guide him through the 9 circles of sin.
With each passing circle, Dante must face not only the demons of Hell, but the crushing conscious of his own sins. Each circle brings more powerful demons, and greater torment for himself as well as the damned. But, as Dante draws closer to the center, Lucifer attempts to make Beatrice his bride. With a bride by his side, he could spawn numerous heirs to his undead kingdom. Lucifer takes every chance to torture Beatrice into submission, as well as taunt Dante with his plans. As the final battle approaches, Dante realizes his journey is about more than saving the soul of his beloved, but also the souls of himself and those he loves and pities. It all leads to a final showdown with Lucifer in the frozen ninth circle of the Inferno.
Review
For anyone who has read The Divine Comedy, much of this plot will be foreign to you. As I said before, this is an extremely loose interpretation, bearing little resemblance to the epic poem. Dante Alighieri’s poem, was a symbolic journey for him. It reflected his personal anxieties of an existence beyond his mortal life. His journey not only served as a story for his readers, but as a personal hope to one day be absolved of his own sins and be welcomed into Paradise. It symbolized, and paralleled his coming exile from Italy at the hands of Pope Boniface VIII. The anime forgoes the political and much of the original religious subtext. It instead re-imagines itself as a horrific, and violent adventure to free a character, Beatrice, that had little presence in Dante’s tale of the Inferno, and made no appearance until Paradiso. The Dante of the anime is also a highly unlikable character. As he descends further and further into hell, his back story is revealed, and we come to find he has committed sins far greater than the undead that surround him in the Inferno. As the story progresses, and you come to discover that this horrible human has the ability to summon God and save souls, you realize little care was taken to make Dante a sympathetic character. And the souls he does manage to save seem self serving, instead of truly saving those that may be worthy of a second chance at salvation.
Dante’s Inferno employs an animation choice that we have been seeing more of lately. Each section of the story is tackled by a different animation group. Some times the changes in style are subtle, at other times they are very jarring. Other anime’s and animated features that have attempted this allowed each animation style to exist within its own story. So each style was an extension of the narrative we were being shown. Here, it only serves to disrupt the flow. Since the film is a complete narrative, separated only by chapter breaks, the animation changes make little sense. To top it off, some of the styles and animators chose are completely wrong for the story being told. The changing style not only affects the look of the animation, but the progression of the character as well as the look of the characters being portrayed. Had these been smaller, contained stories, this could be forgiven, but as a narrative meant to flow, it only takes you out of the story. Thankfully, there are times that the animation itself shines, like the opening section of the film, which is beautiful. These strong animated sequences are sprinkled throughout the film, but some sequences are book-ended by poorly chosen styles. It never looks awful, but the film would have benefited from a consistent style throughout.
The story itself is also not that good. The voice overs and dialogue attempt to mimic the poetic flow of the Divine Comedy, but ultimately ends up sounding like uneducated drivel. The character of Dante is wholly unsympathetic. As the flashbacks reveal more about him, it only further drives a wedge between the viewer and the character. So what starts out as a vengeful knight looking to free his beloved, ends up being a monster of a man whose transgressions make him worse than the demons he slays. The film is also filled with so many plot holes, contrivances and story gaps that it becomes almost infuriating to follow. No rhyme or reason is given to Dante’s ability to summon the power of God and Paradise. Nor is any reason given for his ability to slay those which are already dead, while those that Lucifer or other demons mutilate only return to be mutilated again. The film portrays Hell as an, at times, nearly barren waste land. For an anime based on an action game, there are surprising lulls in the action. The battles are often often inane. Quick cuts, and poorly framed fights detract from what should be exciting battles. The demon and creature designs do little justice to the poems descriptions of the damned. They look like recycled and stereotypical anime demons as opposed to the tortured souls of Hell. Like the rest of the film, the voice acting is hit and miss. Dante’s voice, while fitting, is wasted on him simply repeating the same lines over and over again. And listen for an appearance by Mark Hammil as Dante’s father, using his familiar Joker voice. It is wholly out of place.
Bottom Line
Dante’s Inferno is an entirely forgettable experience. Those unfamiliar with the source material will likely be a bit more forgiving than those who have read and love the classical tale. The film is often times boring, and the narrative uneven and riddled with unanswered questions. Not to mention it completely spoils the plot of the game. One can only hope the game can fill in the plot gaps and wind up being a more interesting experience. For those that must see it, it’s a rental only. But fans of Dante Alighieri’s work should be warned, you will likely be appalled at the liberties taken with the Inferno.
Overall: 4.5 out of 10
