ehalcomb: Spirited Away Review || Anime Movie Review

One word to describe this movie: fantastic. Dare I say that it's Miyazaki's best? Yes. I agree with most of the rest of the world that this film is Miyazaki's 'magnum opus'. Not just because it put the film director on the rest of the world's radar but of how down-to-earth this movie is. It has its own set of morals that some of his other works can only dream to achieve. Two of these that I see flung around the internet a whole lot and that go hand in hand is Chihiro's stumble into adulthood and the importance of names. When Chihiro first comes across the mysterious spirit bathhouse she is meek and has to heavily rely on others to find her path for her. Throughout her journey, however, she comes across characters and scenarios that challenge her both physically and mentally. When her parents coerce her into entering what they think is an abandoned amusement park she twitched at the idea of entering a world that was unfamiliar to her and, more importantly, a world that she could see as a potential threat; a basic human instinct. This all changes when she is cut off from her parents and has to see the world in a new light. Chihiro has to decide for herself what is good and evil and she soon finds out that it isn't as black and white as most people think. Yubaba is greedy but she also finds out that she has a troubled past and a surprisingly hard life. Boh, Yubaba's child, is selfish and unwilling to learn but is only like that because he has never gotten the chance to learn. This theme is most obviously expressed in the character of No-Face. No-Face is a dark and mysterious spirit. Chihiro unwittingly lets him in the bathhouse because she never truly believed in the push and pull of spirits in the first place. Though this causes havoc later in the bathhouse, the aftermath is something almost fulfilling. No-Face starts out wanting to please Chihiro. He wants to thank her for her kindness but becomes frustrated when she respectfully refuses. He ends up lashing out anger, gobbling up spirits left and right just so he can get satisfaction from anything. In the end, however, Chihiro forgives him and he receives a friendship, though awkward at first. The best scene in this ark of the movie is that of the train to Zeniba's house. They just sit there. Not scared of each other. Not even mad at each other. It feels like more of a mutual respect. Moreover, a break from all the tense action that had just taken place minutes earlier. Chihiro's multiple names comes to mind shortly after viewing the film. In Japanese, the name Chihiro can mean many things based on the Kanji used. In Spirited Away, 'chihiro' means 'thousand fathoms'. In short, her name means 'one thousand problems or trials'. In the bathhouse she has to go through many trials to get her name and her identity back. The symbolism intentionally gets very deep in this film. Chihiro's journey is one of love and loss and a search for something more. The only problem that I have with the film is that Lin, Chihiro's mentor, doesn't get any kind of resolve. Overall, though, it is a fantastic movie with a lot of substance.

Spirited Away is fulfilling.