Princess Mononoke – Hayao Miyazaki
One of Roger Ebert’s top movies for 1999, Princess Mononoke was the second highest grossing film in Japan two years prior. Its status as an animated film is very misleading: animated films are pegged for children, but Princess Mononoke, with its violence, and political and environmental commentary, is better suited for an adult audience. Like many Hayao Miyazaki films, this one has conservationism as its main theme, pitting the insensitive humans against various tribes of the animal world and their leader the Great Forest Spirit Shishigami. Miyazaki also makes his protagonist a pacifist, despite his incredible archery skill.
Ashitaka is the young guardian of a hidden village under attack by a medusa-like demon. The demon is revealed to be the possessed corpse of a former boar god intent on spreading the curse of his hatred, a legacy of the circumstance under which he died. Ashitaka’s arm is harmed in battle with Nago the boar demon. He is sent on a quest to find the cure for his curse by the wise woman of the village. His journey is interrupted by the sounds of samurai attacking a village. The curse on his arm, though painful, gives his arm superhuman strength, so that his arrows not only pierce through armor, but also amputates whole arms from the samurai. In the village, a crafty monk, having just been saved by Ashitaka, befriends him at the rice merchant’s stall. Jigo gives Ashitaka advice, and directs him to Irontown after inspecting the lump of metal that killed Nago.
In the next battle that Ashitaka encounters, Lady Eboshi of Irontown leads her people and their guns against a pack of wolves. The people of Irontown make their living from harvesting iron and timber from the forest to make guns, making them great enemies of the animals who protect and seek shelter in the forest. What Miyazaki does well is present both sides of the story: on the one hand, humans have to protect their rice shipments, or they will starve; it is understandable that Moro and her pack of wolves must protect the forest by fighting against the humans. During this battle, there is a small white unrecognizable object riding on the back of the giant mother wolf, Moro. When Ashitaka transports the wounded villagers through the forest, he and the audience see a wild girl covered in wolf blood, Princess Mononoke, the small white object that rides on wolves.
The story reaches a pinnacle when the boar tribe comes en masse to defend the forest, furious at the death of their beloved Nago. Miyazaki shows the true nature of the confusion of battle with all the forces involved in what looks to be a simple man vs. nature battle. The Emperor’s samurai, nominally collaborating with the hunters and the men of Irontown, secretly invade the town while only women are left to defend it. The boars declare war despite the warnings from the wolves that the battle is just a trap. In all the confusion, man’s own bombs kill their own people, and the lack of trust among different tribes of animals and different groups of humans leads to disastrous mistakes.
I am always amazed at how mature the themes are in Miyazaki films. In Princess Mononoke, the disappearance of the cute yet creepy forest spirits is as effective, if not more so, than any “Smokey the Bear” public service announcement about stopping forest fires. He does not stop at environmentalism; in Irontown, the outcasts of society are given the most important jobs that keep the town alive, touching on social equality as a value. It is impossible to mistake this jidaigeki, or period piece, as merely animation for children. The visuals, sound, and story for this film are decent, but not exceptional enough to warrant a grade more than a B+. The English voiceovers are predictably ill-suited. Despite the gore and difficulty translating Japanese culture, this film does keep you on the edge of your seat, giving enjoyability an A-.
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