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ROTTERDAM: Elaine on this year's fest & Miyazaki's HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE!!!
Hey folks, Harry here - Speak of the devil... My fave festival reporter - Elaine has reported for duty. What's her duty? To cover perhaps the most eclectic and fascinating world cinema festival in the world - and to give us intelligent coverage that lays it all out for us. This festival gives off more films that are "off radar" than just about any other we cover here at AICN. If there's an international jewel that nobody has heard of - she'll dig it out and expose it for us all to admire. Here ya go...
34TH ROTTERDAM INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Yes, it's that time of year again. The time of year
when you're all sick of reading Sundance reports, look
forward to reading about the Berlin premiere of a
high-profile superhero film and are stuck reading
endless Rotterdam reports about films which will never
make it to your local Blockbuster, let alone to a
cinema near you. Dull, dull, dull.
So I'm going to start this article with a warning. If
you're not into subtitled movies, you might as well
stop reading my reviews straight away, because for the
next ten days, I'm going to focus almost exclusively
on films from non-English-speaking countries. Mostly
Japanese and Korean films, I think, but if I come
across anything else that merits attention (such as
last year's amazing Russian entry, "The Return"), I'll
let you know. I doubt I'll be reviewing any American
films (mostly because the handful I'm going to see
were released domestically quite a while ago), so if
that's what you're waiting for, you're out of luck.
However, if you are an art cinema lover who enjoys a
good Asian, European or South American flick once in a
while, grab a comfy chair, lean back and let me
entertain you. I promise I'll leave my whip at home. I
also promise there'll be plenty of semi-colons for
those of you who have an Elaine's Semi-Colon Fetish
(ESCF) - you know who you are. :-)
Now, traditionally this is the place where I tell you
why Rotterdam is such a wonderful festival, and why it
should be taken every inch as seriously as Toronto,
Sundance and those other perennial AICN favourites.
But I'm kind of busy right now, so I'm going to keep
it short. In a nutshell: Rotterdam is the greatest
arthouse-and-world-cinema festival in the world.
Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Toronto and New York may get
all the big international premieres, and Sundance may
be the earliest showcase for new American indie gems,
but Rotterdam gets the weird, absurd, entertaining,
baffling or just ethnographically interesting flicks
from Indonesia, Mongolia and the Sahara, as well as
lots of endlessly cool, amazing and inventive films
from Korea and Japan. Amazingly, some of these sell
out as quickly as the high-profile American releases.
Over 350,000 tickets are sold each year, which makes
Rotterdam one of the greatest festivals in the world.
The official guest list comprises some 2,500 names.
Journalists come from all over the world to attend the
fest, and nearly every director is on hand to discuss
his/her film. Furthermore, there are countless world
and European premieres, although hardly any of those
will mean anything to Joe Six-Pack. And I won't go
into the amazing atmosphere of the festival, which is
quite simply the best of any festival I've attended.
This year's edition is slightly different from the
previous six or so in that it is slightly, well,
different. For starters, one of the festival directors
has left (although by chance, he was the first person
I saw when I entered the press centre yesterday
morning), leaving his former co-director to
revolutionise the festival. And she has. Lots of
things have been given a makeover, from the festival
poster (no more naked ladies prowling like tigers) and
the ticketing procedure (much better than last year,
though still far from flawless) to the actual
programme. This year, stress is on South-East Asian
and Russian cinema, though many other countries are
represented nearly as well. This year's Featured
Filmmakers are Benoit Jacquot (France) and Evgeny
Yufit (Russia). Furthermore, there is a Tomu Uchida
retrospective featuring lots of old samurai films
which looks simply fascinating, and a large number of
short films which I'm sure are fascinating as well,
but which I won't be watching. Finally, there's a new
programme section called Rotterdämmerung (ten points
if you spot the reference), which features lots of
wild, out-there films centring on the theme of the
apocalypse. Needless to say, Japan is represented well
in the latter category, from which I'll be watching
(and reviewing) a lot of films.
Sadly, the festival itself is not the only thing
that's a bit different from previous years. I myself
also feel a tad different, and not necessarily better.
To put it mildly, I am exhausted. Usually, I begin to
feel, look and act like a zombie by about day 8 of the
festival; this year, due to an exceedingly nasty work
deadline that coincided with the festival and still
has to be met (that scream of agony which just pierced
your ears was mine), I feel like a zombie going into
the festival. I actually felt my skin crawl with
weariness (something which normally doesn't happen to
me until film no. 31 or thereabouts) on opening day,
which bodes ill for the next nine days. It should be
an interesting chance to do some medical research,
though, in that I will be well placed to explore the
different stages of zombie-ism in the next nine days.
If there is a worse state than zombie-like, I will
presumably be able to tell you so by the end of next
week. Stay tuned.
This year also marks a bit of a departure for me in
that I've made a conscious decision not to watch the
latest offerings by two of my favourite directors,
Lukas Moodysson and Michael Winterbottom. Nothing I've
read about "9 Songs" and "A Hole in My Heart" makes me
want to see these films, and since I am, as mentioned,
hideously busy, I've decided not to waste my time on
films I will probably dislike. Deep down, it feels
like treachery (what do you mean, you're not going to
watch the latest Moodysson?), but really, I'm too
tired to care.
Anyway. So much for introductory remarks. On to the
festival now.
This year's festival got off to a pretty solid start.
Of the four films I saw on day 1, two were very good
(Hirokazu Koreeda's "Nobody Knows" and Susanne Bier's
"Brothers") and the third staggeringly brilliant (Kim
Ki-duk's "Bin-jip"). I will review all three of these
films later, after I've had a chance to see Kim's
second film in the festival, "The Samaritan Girl".
However, I will start with a review of Hayao
Miyazaki's follow-up to "Spirited Away", "Howl's
Moving Castle". It's actually the closing film of the
festival, but seeing as I had an opportunity to watch
it before the festival even began, I thought it would
be a fitting place to start.
Enjoy. I'll be back with more reviews, news and
anecdotes later.
.............................
HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE
(Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki)
When "Howl's Moving Castle" opened in Japan last
November, it broke all sorts of box-office records,
selling over 1.1 million tickets in just four days.
Ten weeks on, it's still tops at the Japanese box
office, where it's expected to do even better business
than "Spirited Away".
Quite frankly, I find this hard to believe. For while
"Howl's Moving Castle" is a worthy film, it is nowhere
near as good as "Spirited Away". Nor is it half as
good as "The Incredibles", the film it's currently
keeping from reaching the coveted number-one spot in
Japan.
Loosely based on Diana Wynne Jones' novel of the same
name, "Howl's Moving Castle" tells the story of
Sophie, a shy young girl who makes a living as a
hatter and leads a quiet life without much fun. One
day, on a rare outing to town, Sophie meets Howl, a
young wizard whose name is spoken with fear and awe by
the locals because he is said to devour the hearts of
young, beautiful women. Despite his fearful
reputation, Howl treats Sophie remarkably gently; one
senses right from the start that these characters are
going to hit it off well. Then misfortune hits. For
reasons which aren't entirely clear, the evil Witch of
the Waste, who seems to have it in for Howl, curses
Sophie, turning her from a young girl into a rickety
old lady. Unable to face her family and colleagues,
the elderly Sophie flees into the Waste. There she
stumbles upon Howl's moving castle, which turns out to
be badly in need of some cleaning. With surprising
determination (old age fits her like a glove!), the
elderly-looking Sophie (no longer pretty enough to
tempt Howl) takes it upon herself to give the castle
its long-overdue cleaning. What follows is the story
of Sophie's complicated relationship with Howl (a
terribly vain young man with special powers), Howl's
young apprentice Michael (amusingly called Markl in
Japanese) and the fire demon Calcifer, who promises
Sophie he'll lift her curse if she frees him from his
contract with Howl, although he isn't quite sure how
she is supposed to go about this. It is also the story
of all these characters' relationships with a couple
of witches, for apart from the Witch of the Waste, who
must naturally be persuaded to lift Sophie's curse,
there is another witch who might just be the evil
genius behind the war that is ravaging the country.
The big question is: can Sophie regain her youth, find
love and happiness and save the country from a
devastating war?
There is a lot of good stuff here, and it's mostly to
do with the artwork. Miyazaki's designs are, as
always, flawless. As usual, there are men with big
walrus moustaches and strange, weirdly designed flying
machines, but there's more than that. From the
gorgeous, Central-European-looking cities to the wide,
open landscapes to which Howl takes Sophie when they
need a time-out, Miyazaki's land of Ingary is a
romantic vision so consummately drawn that you wish it
actually existed so that you could visit it. In this
world, the eponymous moving castle, which most
resembles a deep-sea fish with legs, seems a strangely
natural presence, as do the fire demon, the
shape-shifting creatures and the magic tricks. Add a
brilliant score by Joe Hisaishi (one of the best film
composers working today) and you have a film that not
only looks wonderful, but sounds it.
Sadly, what seems to be lacking is a good story. Diana
Wynne Jones's "Howl's Moving Castle" is a subtle,
detailed exploration of adolescence and heartlessness,
with well-drawn characters whose motives may be
ambiguous, but who are at all times endearing.
Miyazaki's adaptation of the story is not nearly that
gripping. True, the Witch of the Waste and Calcifer
are great characters who make for excellent comic
relief, but the main characters, so well drawn in the
book, lack depth. Their difficulties seem contrived,
and their situations in life and backgrounds are
simplified to the point of making no sense. To make
matters even worse, their relationships to each other
are kept vague, as well. And since you're never quite
certain just how the characters are supposed to be
related to each other, you don't really care what
happens between them. Nor do you particularly care
what happens to their country, because as wonderful as
it looks, you never get a feeling for it. It's a
setting for a love story and some war-mongering, and
that's it; it never becomes a character in its own
right, like the environments in several other Miyazaki
films. Which would be all right if the love story and
the war actually made sense, but they don't. Because
the love story, for all its wonderful ingredients,
lacks a heart, and the war is never explained and ends
in the most ridiculous, rushed way . Call it a
deus-ex-machina ending if you want; I call it a bad
ending.
Tragically, the lack of depth and cohesion isn?t the
only problem of the film. A viewer familiar with the
rest of Miyazaki's oeuvre will inevitably be struck by
the familiarity of it all - the nagging sense that
he's seen it all before. So many familiar Miyazaki
themes and tricks are reused here that the film almost
feels like an exercise in recycling. Occasionally, the
familiarity and predictability are endearing, but most
of the time they are vaguely annoying. Combined with
the relatively weak story, they make for a somewhat
disappointing viewing experience. Not a BAD viewing
experience, mind you (even a lesser Miyazaki film is
leagues better than the average animated film); just
not up to the brilliance of, say, "Spirited Away" or
"Laputa". But if you lower your expectations somewhat,
chances are you'll find it quite worthwhile when the
film is finally released in the US in June. It's worth
checking out just to marvel at the Witch of the Waste
and Calcifer, two of the most entertaining creations
in recent animation.
One final thing - be sure to watch the original
version with subtitles when it finally comes your way.
The Japanese voice acting is excellent (no grating
little-girl voices here); I doubt an American dub will
do the film justice. Furthermore, an American dub will
rob you of the curious Japanese pronunciation of the
name Michael ("Markl"), which is one of the film's
great charms.
Elaine
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+ Expand All
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By far the most financially successful Japanese director out there. Creatively you can always debate for anyone but most people would say he's one of the top. Nice to see animation done traditionally, or closer to it than full computers is not dead despite what everyone keeps saying.
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Nausicaa is Miyazakis best. It captures my childhood, smelling of Vanilla Pudding, and dreams. Im excited to see it Howls though.
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Unfortunately, our indie movie didn't get selected for this festival, but we tried anyway!
www.b-pro.nl
We have some clips online ;)
The IFFR is great though, saw tons of excellent movies in the past.
I mean; which festival shows a movie called ELECTRIC DRAGON 80.000 VOLTS
and invites the director to answer questions from the audience! That's just great!
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By my standards, Miyazaki's best... although it's not actually by Miyazaki, it has all his heart, a wonderfull growing up story, some magical moments in an ordinary world and the most funny version of a John Denver song ever put on film (Concrete Road ^_~).
A deliciously daily story. ^_^ -
It's very long (almost two hours) and doesn't have the momentum of 'The Incredibles' or, for that matter, 'Spirited Away', but this, being Miyazaki, is a trippy visual feast that had me absorbed for it's entire length.
'Calucifer' (for it is his name) makes for one of the most endearing characters in a Miyazaki film so far, as is 'Turnip-Head'. There are several 'blow-your-brain' moments of animation and it all feels like a lot to take in in one viewing. It's consistently full of 'blink and you'll miss it' storytelling and younger children may find it hard to figure out what the hell is going on. As Miyazaki said though in a recent interview, this is a fairy story for 'sixty-year old little girls', and, in this aspect he is entirely successful.
As for the animation - well, I'd say it's as beautiful as 'Bambi'. Right at the very top of the tree. I could feel the tears welling up at the sheer beauty of the worlds Miyazaki invites us to share. They reviewer is right in that some of the characters lack depth but by the end of the movie it didn't seem to matter too much as my brain was f*cked. Either way, an unmissable treat and if they can get the English dub right they could have a massive hit again a la 'Spirited Away'. Go see. -
I know that
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...and it's the best Miyazaki so far(hopefully there'll be more?). It's just brilliant.
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I'm surprised to hear Howl's Moving Castle plays slower and longer than Spirited Away because that movie was also criticized for having a slow pace at times and for being too long. I don't mean to sound defensive, just that all Miyazaki's films have had shortcomings that either stick with you or disappear because the whole is better than the sum of its parts. I look forward to seeing this (probably won't get released near me until the Fall), and I hope I'm not annoyed by any of these things. At least I probably won't mind the similarities to his other works, as that's one of the things I love about his films anyway.
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Sorry to hear that you're exhausted, Elaine. May I suggest pancakes for breakfast? The energy they provide will help you get through another whip cracking day. Quick question: Are you Harry's favourite festival reporter because you both have red hair? [Hi Sabs.] Last. ;~)
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Elaine is dead-on right. Rarely have I seen a review on AICN which so perfectly captured my own thoughts about a movie. It's pretty, but incomprehensible, and makes less sense as it goes on. (mainly because Miyazaki never stops to explain anything) Spirited could get away with its fairy tale spirit because you felt like there WERE rules to the world; you just don't know them. There was no such feeling with Howl, it seemed completely random. Also, what really saved Spirited Away from being dull was the wonderful head of steam it builds up, beginning at the point the stink demon arrives, and lasting nearly to the end of the picture. This never happens with Howl. Random events continue to occur until the end, and ultimately, all you can do is lookit de preety peectures because you sure aren't going to understand WHY everything's happening. ... Miyazaki is probably incapable of making a BAD movie, but I'd rank this as one of his lesser efforts.
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Heh. I like that. Very appropriate. Yes, I'll have to add a few snacks to the already substantial supply I promised you a while ago. (Which reminds me: where did you get the Billy Boyd photo that accompanied the present? It's gorgeous. So gorgeous I'm keeping it under my pillow when I go to bed at night. So, er, hannon le for that, too!) **** Miami: Sadly, pancakes for breakfast is not an option, but I assure you I'll have a few spinach-and-cheese crepes for second breakfast or elevensies next time I find myself in Lantaren/Het Venster (one of the festival venues). They usually restore me to my whip-cracking might. As for Harry liking me because of my red hair, why yes, it's all part of the Great Redhead Conspiracy. Although Harry, being Head Geek and all, is obviously a better redder than I. Alas. **** Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to watch some films...
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i thought princess mononoke was pretty darn good, but when i saw spirited away couldn't help but wonder when it was going to end... soooooooo slow at times
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Miyazaki has never made a better movie than Porco, the very thought of it fills me with delight, and everyone i've shown it to says they love it but found it frustrating that Porco's curse was never explained. My opinion is that its this sort of stuff that makes Miyazaki so special, his stories are epic events rather than sagas. Nausicaa, Laputa and Porco all have huge backstories that are never explained and the audience never find out why the mother is in hospital in My Neighbour Totoro. Myazaki obviously doesn't think the audience needs to know, and I feel it makes his movies a richer experience. Likewise, Lucas explaining the force and how R2 and C3PO were made just ruined it, because he felt the audience needed to know that shit, when really it was this sort of stuff that ruined the SW prequels. Discuss motherfuckers.
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whow, so many great news on AICN, thx to Sundance and now Rotterdam.
oh and btw, great review, Elaine! -
Btw, do you eat them stacked or separately? :~) [Hi Miami] *** Where did I get the Pippin picture? From a secret place that also had a Boromir one, which is even gorgeouser [and no, you can
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Who are you people that keep saying hello to each other?
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Jan 28, 2005 2:08:58 PM CST
Strangely enough, it was my pronuniaction of Gotterdammerung tha
by mortsleam
Unfortunately, I can't sing, or dance, but darn it, I can pronounce Gotterdammerung in a convincing English accent. Hiya, morGoth, Miami, Sabs and Elaine! Very nice opening salvo, Mistress. I'll still see Howl's Moving Castle when or if it ever makes its way to my fair city. It sounds to me to be about in the same league as Laputo: Castle in the Sky. Very beautiful but ultimately uninvolving and somewhat confusing. And yes, Miyazaki does love his abrupt endings. But as you say, the worst Miyazaki is better than almost all other animation. I seem to recall a conversation some time ago about imagining a Miyazaki version of the Silmarillion. I still think it would be a tremendous idea, as long as he allows Alan Lee and John Howe (and maybe even Ted Nasmith) to do some design work. Billy Bob Thornton as Thingol! Can
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Don't ask questions you do not wish to know the answers to. >>
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Marco's curse is pretty evident: he did it to himself out of disgust for humanity. That's the point of the story. He's not searching for a cure-- he has to be shown that there's a reason to turn back. God I love this movie.
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... if ever there was a case of "be careful what you ask for; you don't want to know" Gristle's inquiry cernly DO fit de profile! Well done my Odobenate friend. Wink wink, nudge nudge, say no MORE! *** How do Mistress! I see your festival reviewing skills are once again being honed to their preternatural speed typing, 'super-keen-edginess' once more. What we've come to expect, and no mistake! Keep up the good work M'lady. *** Namarie, Trubba Not. >
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Jan 28, 2005 5:19:58 PM CST
Whatever happened to your omlaught printing skills, my dear mort
by sabster
And my teutonic mind boggles at the notion of pronouncing G
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I just looked him up on imdb.com, and now I know why I
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Jan 28, 2005 5:48:33 PM CST
I could lie and say the umlauts disappeared when I posted and bl
by mortsleam
But the truth is I was in a hurry and couldn't find the "insert umlaut" function. Please pardon my hideous errant punctuation, Sabs, I'm getting it removed on Tuesday. By the way, that was "G
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Jan 28, 2005 6:19:59 PM CST
Aw, morty, you know I was just kidding you with the Umlaute, don
by sabster
I was dead serious about the Heidi aversion though. *** Great, now I have not only the mental picture of a fairly big sea mammal but also that of Colonel Pickerung enunciating G
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Jan 28, 2005 6:40:51 PM CST
hey, if we're gonna play "junior high school" and tell all our i
by eraser_x
Yo, Sabs, can you honestly tell me you forgot? Forgot the magnetism of Robin Zander, or the charisma of Rick Nielsen?
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Since when do you go bowling?
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I'm tellin' ya, mor, if this girl can't smell your qualifications, then who needs her, right?
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You don't talk to her. You use your face. You use your body. You use everything. I mean .. just send out this vibe. Women do respond. I mean, something happens.
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...actually, if I may slightly change Morty Baby's order, I'd start with Kiki's Delivery Service first. I just think it'd go over with you better as an introduction to M's work. But then, why not go straight to Spirited Away, I sez! ** Gotterdammerangit Walrus, I was going to mention that reference when i posted earlier but I plumb forgot it! Gah! The one time...THE ONE TIME...and I blow it. Thus, I depart with no life and nappy haid hung low.
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Learn it. Know it. Live it.
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I meant "GotterdammerDANGIT," of course! Sheesh...
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...o yes, she's whiffed ALL of the qualifications...especially...The Whip!
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Jan 28, 2005 6:48:34 PM CST
just gettin' into the spirit, since people are vandalizing this
by eraser_x
Go Miyazaki, woo woo!! ;-)
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... youve fell in with a nasty lot in this here talkit back rite enuff. But no trubba...
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As busy and tired as you are, and still you produce this superbly written review as well as a snappy and stylish introduction, oozing with personality. Woo hoo! You GO! I think you may be an Maia in disguise.***I'm taking notes this year.***Hullo mellyn. Happy weekend.
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Jan 29, 2005 7:06:09 PM CST
That's precisely the kind of review I like to see more of in reg
by kiyone
I mean, SPIRITED AWAY was an enjoyable-enough, if overlong and unfocused, children's film I just never could quite into on the level that the critics did because whatever the intangible element in that film was which they were collectively splooging over just missed me completely, and the more "Six stars out of five"-type reviews I read of the film, the less I could enjoy the film for what it was. But I think Miyazaki peaked with the underappreciated KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE, which was done before he started taking himself too seriously as an auteur and national treasure, and, as a result, there just aren't the layers of pretentious, artsy subtext, just a straightforward, unambiguous tale of a young girl trying to establish herself and fit in in an unfamiliar city, which is exactly the kind of children's film I can get into.
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Jan 31, 2005 10:06:29 AM CST
Now that the green-eyed Mistress' new review has been posted, I
by miami mofo
LAST! ;~)
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...Miami. Man, I wonder what it feels like to be...LAST!
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Feb 01, 2005 11:33:54 AM CST
I for one think you are selling "Spirited Away" way short Kiyone
by skyway moaters
Are you certain you aren't confusing "pretentious, artsy subtext" with cultural iconography unfamiliar to your idiom?
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I for one thought the unfamiliar cultural iconography was a fascinating layer that made the movie even more enjoyable. It didn't make a lick of sense to me (much like certain deeply laid histories in certain non-trilogy three-in-one movies) but it helped to make the movie feel deeper and richer somehow. "Deeply laid" is fast becoming one of my favorite phrases, he says to know one in particular.
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