RSS
Twitter
Facebook
YouTube
I thought I'd just start up a thread about this, since I know we have a few Miyazaki fans on this board. I don't mean to be redundant because I know many of you are familiar with this director, but the more the merrier.
Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese director of animated films, which are almost all children's films (I think there's one PG-13 in there), but bear a remarkable sophistication. I'm a big film buff, everything from the advent of film to modern blockbusters, and artists of this level are few and far between. Any child will sit in rapt wonder through any of his films. I think there is something to be said for films which hold a remarkable seductiveness and intelligence, without breaking PG-13. Think of this area as the opposite of Dora the Explorer. Much of classic children's literature explores this territory. It is a place we all know, populated by the likes of Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, the Velveteen Rabbit and a few gruff Shinto gods...but one which we do not live in.
Amazingly enough, Miyazaki himself is said to be somewhat estranged from his son. Apparently he spent too much time perfecting his craft.
I've been managing to parse out my Miyazaki viewing to about 1 or 2 features a year, and now I am close to running out. It's sort of like "running out" of the Bible. This month, my daughter and I have gotten Castle in the Sky and Princess Mononoke. I'm beginning to notice shared stylistic elements; as well as glaring differences.
For instance there is frequently a huge tree as a focus of the story in about half of these films. A fucking enormous tree. Talking animals, female protagonists, Shinto overtones, nods to Western antiquity as well as Eastern. One of the things I like best about Miyazaki is one of the things I like best about Byzanytine art: easily makes the supernatural flat, blends the best of East and West.
Differences: If we're positing Kurosawa as the fantastical, surreal pole of Japanese cinema, and Ozu as the traditionalist, I'd say Miyazaki is slightly to the Ozu side. With his focus on the stasis of domestic routines, but occasional glimpses of the "super"natural fantastic, he is the best of both worlds. I do think he would hold his own against any of these masters, were it not for the strident propagandist tone in one of his films. You see, Miyazaki's films all hold an internal ecology, an internal economy, an internal engineering. They must make sense, that is, the gears behind the watch face must truly work. This in itself is wonderful, and works when paired with the mystery all of his films are steeped in. It's not a forced whimsy. But in Princess Mononoke, for example, the environmentalist message both flattens and accentuates the true beauty of the work. The strident tone comes from the preponderance of fighting, tension, and bloodshed, over the matter of whether or not the Spirit of the Forest will die. The Larry Henry in me (read: Scotch-Irish Appalachian environmentalist Yosemite Sam) says, "Damn straight! They'd better not cut down those fucking trees"! But no art which is overtly didactic can be beautiful. Even Leni Riefenstahl put beauty first. I find that these films, like most things in life, are best when they succeed while retaining their flexibility. And I think this rings truest to the blend of Shinto, Buddhism, and timeless anthropology that moves through these pictures. But to the credit of Mononoke, it is ambitious, and the character of the Spirit of the Forest is iconic and unforgettable:
So, for me.... My Neighbor Totoro is still the best. A tale of two little girls and their befuddled professor of a father, who have moved out to the countryside while their mother recuperates from tuberculosis. And they happen to meet the King of the Forest, Totoro. Who happens to be a giant, fat, dumb cat creature. It's not magical. It's as real as oatmeal. And when Desi turns two, he will be getting a copy from me. Many a fever-addled toddler has cried, "PUT TOTORO ON!!", and barring the sudden dwindling of febrile toddlers (Obama?), many more will.
Hayao Miyazaki is difficult, because his films are at once so beautiful as to lull you into peace, while so beautiful as to make you feel bitter sadness. But they are truly transcendent. They are beautiful with a capital B. If you have children, I urge you: turn off the computer, turn off what's left of Saturday Morning Cartoons, and do up some Miyazaki. You'll all be happier.
Launched in August 2010, TheMetropreneur.com is a local online resource devoted to small business development and entrepreneurship. Its aim is to tell the stories of Central Ohio's business community, foster regional economic development and assist entrepreneurs with its resource-heavy focus.