PRINCESS MONONOKE
dir: Hayao Miyazaki
"You see, everyone wants everything, that's the way the world is. But I just might actually get it! " - Jigo
Brief Synopsis
A warrior cursed by a demon travels to request a cure from the Forest Spirit only to discover the Gods of nature at war with a mining colony intent on wiping out the forests surrounding their home.
Why It's Here
Known as one of the most prolific anime directors in Japan today, Hayao Miyazaki has a body of work spanning thirty years with not even a single critical failure to show for it. It's odd then that it took nearly twenty of those years before he developed his most mature and accessible work. While Princess Mononoke still embodies many of the features that make his films distinguishable such as otherworldly spirit characters, environmental themes, complex Japanese myths, etc. it is a film using a familiar "us versus them" structure and a mature perspective of war, battle, vengeance which are unexpected from Miyazaki who has spent the majority of his career catering to a more universal audience with childlike innocence.
Despite being more accessible than Miyazaki's other films often firmly planted within Japanese folklore using anthropomorphic characters, Princess Mononoke is still tough to bite into for a viewer unfamiliar with the man's work or anime in general. The "us versus them" structure is more conventional than say, Spirited Away, but it manages a skewed perspective through the eyes of an injured warrior named Ashitaka who wishes to have his arm, injured by a demonic curse, cured by the Forest Spirit but discovers the guardians of the forest in a war with miners nearby. While the two sides ruthlessly battle, the Gods of the forest without contempt for human needs, and the people disregarding the destruction of natural habitats of animals, Ashitaka acts as a mediator between the groups. He sympathizes with the humans as he is one of them, but is also from a small village where the Gods are respected and nature preserved, so he hops back and forth between aiding the two groups in a futile effort to prove that generosity and goodness may overcome pain and hate.
Miyazaki's familiar themes of environmentalism are strongly evident here, maybe more prominently than in any of his other films. Industrializing humans expanding their machinery and technology through the once green mountain side without regard for the monkeys who attempt to plant trees and the forest spirits who wish no harm, just harmony in their environment. Naturally, however, the humans who get lost in the woods fear them as their leader has them misinformed about the intentions of the animals. Miyazaki's characters are consistently great because they never sway too far towards good or evil, they shift in areas of gray where characters misdeeds are only a result of their ignorance. Even the Princess Mononoke who strikes Ashitaka, acts only in a prejudice towards humans rather than an evil hatred for them.
Once again, Ashitaka acts as conduit for these character traits for the audience. He represents good will but his curse is fed by anger, hatred, and pain. Each time he enters battle he viciously claims life, while his infection spreads, visualizing the dangerous carnage of war and how hatred can consume even the most composed person.
Thinking about Princess Mononoke and the rest of Miyazaki's films, what is possibly most impressive about their success rate is the fact that they are boundless. Miyazaki has seemingly limitless creative control and his films are sprawling epics involving complex mysticism and rich fantasy. Typically, one would think that films with no conventional structure and such endless fantasy would go off-rails. Most directors would be consumed by their power and in their attempt to create something profound, they would end up destroying their work. It is here that Miyazaki defines himself as another level of talent. His creations, including Princess Mononoke are especially unusual, even from the opening scene, and they continue to become more bizarre as they progress, yet they never lose sight of character, theme, and the focus of the story. Miyazaki films aren't spoonfed to audiences and are very daunting initially, but when the film ends, there is a calming and satisfying nature that everything just fit and suddenly it all clicks. Princess Mononoke is one of these films, it's only after the film is over that you realize you have just witnessed a true auteur at work.
09/07/09
Despite being more accessible than Miyazaki's other films often firmly planted within Japanese folklore using anthropomorphic characters, Princess Mononoke is still tough to bite into for a viewer unfamiliar with the man's work or anime in general. The "us versus them" structure is more conventional than say, Spirited Away, but it manages a skewed perspective through the eyes of an injured warrior named Ashitaka who wishes to have his arm, injured by a demonic curse, cured by the Forest Spirit but discovers the guardians of the forest in a war with miners nearby. While the two sides ruthlessly battle, the Gods of the forest without contempt for human needs, and the people disregarding the destruction of natural habitats of animals, Ashitaka acts as a mediator between the groups. He sympathizes with the humans as he is one of them, but is also from a small village where the Gods are respected and nature preserved, so he hops back and forth between aiding the two groups in a futile effort to prove that generosity and goodness may overcome pain and hate.
Miyazaki's familiar themes of environmentalism are strongly evident here, maybe more prominently than in any of his other films. Industrializing humans expanding their machinery and technology through the once green mountain side without regard for the monkeys who attempt to plant trees and the forest spirits who wish no harm, just harmony in their environment. Naturally, however, the humans who get lost in the woods fear them as their leader has them misinformed about the intentions of the animals. Miyazaki's characters are consistently great because they never sway too far towards good or evil, they shift in areas of gray where characters misdeeds are only a result of their ignorance. Even the Princess Mononoke who strikes Ashitaka, acts only in a prejudice towards humans rather than an evil hatred for them.
Once again, Ashitaka acts as conduit for these character traits for the audience. He represents good will but his curse is fed by anger, hatred, and pain. Each time he enters battle he viciously claims life, while his infection spreads, visualizing the dangerous carnage of war and how hatred can consume even the most composed person.
Thinking about Princess Mononoke and the rest of Miyazaki's films, what is possibly most impressive about their success rate is the fact that they are boundless. Miyazaki has seemingly limitless creative control and his films are sprawling epics involving complex mysticism and rich fantasy. Typically, one would think that films with no conventional structure and such endless fantasy would go off-rails. Most directors would be consumed by their power and in their attempt to create something profound, they would end up destroying their work. It is here that Miyazaki defines himself as another level of talent. His creations, including Princess Mononoke are especially unusual, even from the opening scene, and they continue to become more bizarre as they progress, yet they never lose sight of character, theme, and the focus of the story. Miyazaki films aren't spoonfed to audiences and are very daunting initially, but when the film ends, there is a calming and satisfying nature that everything just fit and suddenly it all clicks. Princess Mononoke is one of these films, it's only after the film is over that you realize you have just witnessed a true auteur at work.
09/07/09