Hacker Cinema
The Deer King
鹿の王 ユナと約束の旅
2021 · Film · 113 min
Directed by Masayuki Miyaji, Masashi Ando
AnimationDramaAdventureFantasy
Following a brutal war, former soldier Van toils in a mine controlled by the ruling empire. One day, his solitary existence is upended when a pack of wild dogs carrying a deadly and incurable disease attack, leaving only Van and a young girl named Yuna as survivors. Finally free, the pair seek out a simple existence in the countryside but are pursued by nefarious forces. Intent on protecting Yuna at all costs, Van must uncover the true cause of the plague ravaging the kingdom—and its possible cure.
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1 comment on Hacker News
I have the same struggle in finding decent anime. Lately the anime world has deprioritized anime for art's sake in favor of commercial interests. It has led to a situation where anime quality has deteriorated. Mamoru Oishii spoke about this industry problem in an interview earlier this year: https://www.cinra.net/article/202303-oshiimamoru_ysdkrcl
As far as movies go, I can't think of any intelligent and inspiring ones from the past 15 years besides GitS: Solid State Society, however, the movie only makes sense if you've seen GitS: SAC season 1 and 2.
You might enjoy Redline (2009) for it's audaciousness, but it's not deep. The Deer King (2022) is one I've been meaning to watch, but is likely to just be more of a feel good movie.
I know you said you weren't interested in watching a series, but you might enjoy the plot of Ichirou Inuyashiki (2017). It's available on Crunchyroll.