One cannot deny that
Chihiro’s Journey
It is one of the great jewels of cinema, and even entered the list of the 100 best films of the 21st century according to The New York Times list. The classic of
Hayao Miyazaki
It is one of your best works, but for Japanese fans there is another movie from
Studio Ghibli
that surpasses.
Everything stays in the family
Although it is also not necessary to go very far and everything remains within the family with
Princess Mononoke
, a story that also uses Japanese folklore, but with a much darker and more violent approach, criticizing the impact of humanity on nature.
Because while Spirited Away is often more acclaimed internationally, in Japan, Princess Mononoke is the Miyazaki film that has best penetrated society. Part of its success is due to the way it reflects Japanese culture and history, as it is set in the Muromachi period and, despite its supernatural and fantasy elements, remains a faithful reflection of this cultural moment, using much of the daily life of the time.
For Japanese viewers, Princess Mononoke is an ode to a past era of their country. Because although we are in a fantasy environment, Miyazaki perfectly shows the shocks of Japanese society and its contrasts: cultural identity itself, sacrifices made for industrialization, or the abandonment of traditions.
[Princess Mononoke] emphasizes loss, even privileges it (…) Miyazaki’s work deals with the loss of a Japan that existed before the patriarchal system. A Japan in which nature, rather than people, ruled. In a way, the film can be characterized as a violent, even apocalyptic, poem for a lost Japan, but at the same time offers an alternative, a heterogeneous vision centered on women of Japan’s identity for the future.
, wrote Susan Napier, professor of Japanese literature and cinema in
Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke
.
Although Princess Mononoke is approaching thirty years old, it continues to generate debates and fascinate experts and academics with its portrayal of Japanese culture and history, serving as the basis for numerous studies and reflections by specialists. And it is thanks to Miyazaki’s film that anime began to be taken seriously as a suitable medium for academic discussions.
A significant change that Princess Mononoke caused was allowing anime to become a subject of critical and academic discussion within the Japanese debate forum.
, wrote the author Shiro Yoshioka in his book
Princess Mononoke: A Game Changer for Hayao Miyazaki
.
The truth is that Chihiro’s success would never have been possible if San had not existed. Miyazaki worked for years on Princess Mononoke, and at the time, it was the most expensive film ever made by Studio Ghibli, and it even required five different animation directors to handle the scale of the project. But the gamble paid off and Princess Mononoke became the highest-grossing film in Japan at the time.
It was also the first Studio Ghibli film to debut with significant international acclaim and won the favor of both critics and audiences, accumulating numerous nominations and awards along the way.
It is still today one of Miyazaki’s great masterpieces, and no matter how much time passes, it continues to be talked about and leaves no one indifferent. Perhaps it is not everyone’s favorite, but you can’t say it doesn’t touch something inside you every time you watch it… And that is something very difficult to achieve.
Read the article at radarsantri.com
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