Hey folks, Harry here with another look at Miyazaki's SPIRITED AWAY. September 20th seems an eternity away right now. Like... A million years at least. here ya go
Hi Harry,
This past Sunday, I attended the Castro theater showing of Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (or "Spirited Away" for the English speaking audience). Let me start off by saying I'm a huge Miyazaki fan, and this is one of his most personal, complex, and poignant movies. Strong words if you've seen any of his movies, but I think most will agree with me here.
Anyway, I better cut the touchy-feely crap and get to the review (sorry, no long, drawn out pre-movie exposition. I will say one thing: parking in San Francisco is a bitch).
One word to describe the beginning of this movie is deceptive. It starts out with a 10 year old girl named Chihiro moving to a new town with her parents. Like any 10 year old girl forced to move from her past life, she's not very enthusiastic about the whole thing. Her parents are a tad dense and have the mindset that everything will be alright if you throw money at it.
Of course, the movie takes a turn when the trio gets lost in a strange town: various deserted shops line both sides of a street, and a stunning bathhouse stands guard at the end. At the Q & A, producer, Toshio Suzuki, said that this town was a recreation of a real place that Miyazaki often frequents. It's almost like a refuge that protects traditional buildings and architectural styles: a time capsule of tradition. Anyway, the parents see a delicious feast in one of the shops, and like the dense pigs they are, they help themselves saying that they'd pay off the owner if he gets back. Since Chihiro has a pure heart (and some common sense), she does not eat and instead runs off to find out exactly where they are.
What happens next is quite Wonderland-esque. The town turns out to be a type of way station for the gods (in a great sequence when the lamps magically light-up and the gods appear) and the parents are turned into pigs for taking what is not theirs. I really can't describe the detail and overall weirdness that went into the gods‚ designs. Here's a hint: take all of Miyazaki's movies, throw then into a blender, set to puree, pour it into a cannon, and shoot it into a movie projector, and you'll get an idea.
Chihiro soons find herself working in the bathhouse which is ruled by the tyrannical Yubaba who uses magic and the ability to strip someone of their name to keep her workers in line. Chihiro's name is chopped up into "Sen" and she is then subjected to hard and demeaning work. She is also befriended by Yubaba's number one henchmen and apprentice (and my new favorite Miyazaki character), Haku (hey, just imagine a kick-ass boy in white with magical powers who can change himself into a white snake dragon with the head of a wolf). The rest of the characters include an old man with extendable arms and legs (6 limbs total), a bathhouse worker named Rin, a mysterious traveler named No-face, three disembodied heads who bounce around, a bird with the head of Yubaba, a baby who takes up half a room, a talking frog, Yubaba's twin sister, and the triumphant return of the susuwatari (a.k.a the dustbunnies in Totoro). Weird enough for you?
I won't spoil the rest of the story because it's a real treat to see unfold (coupled with gorgeous sequences of course). Some of my favorites are when hundreds of paper birds attack the wolf-snake-dragon and causes it to smash into Chihiro‚s room or when Chihiro first meet the susuwatari (it's classic scene that had the entire theater busting up).
One thing that interested me was that afterwards, Suzuki revealed what the original ending was going to be. It seemed to involve a huge magical fight between Yubaba, Haku, and Yubaba's sister in order to get Chihiro's name back and release her parents from the spell. This thought had me drooling (for the magic used in the movie kicks major ass), but I'm glad Miyazaki went with a more subdued approach by shifting focus to the mysterious No-face. He made a movie that responds to a faceless, apathetic, and ultimately lonely generation who just consumes everything and throws meaningless money around to make it better. Tradition is being sacrificed for supposed progress, words are loosing their meaning, and children are suffering for it. Of course, the movie also involves the standard Miyazaki themes of man against nature, the power of friendship, and the importance of identity. Heavy stuff indeed. Miyazaki said that is for "the people who used to be 10 years old and the people who are going to be 10 years old," and I think this is quite accurate.
This is a distinctly Japanese film but it ultimately reaches everyone. However, I should mention that I went with a bunch of Japanese friends and they seemed to connect to it even more (hard to believe, seeing how I loved it). Remember that there are distinct ties to Japanese folktales and such, but if you keep an open mind, any race, age, or sex will enjoy its message. Support this movie when it comes to US theaters around September 20th. The buzz needs to start now.
Finally, why is it that Miyazaki always makes the coolest modes of transportation? First the cat-bus, and now a white wolf-dragon. Haku rocks!!!
Call me Kishi
