Review

Review Date: 13-October-02
Spoiler Rating: Medium
Juju Judgment: Juicy

Spirited Away (English version) (2002)

If Joseph Campbell was right, it's no surprise that Hayao Miyazaki's "Spirited Away" is the highest-grossing film in Japanese history (an honor that was also held by Miyazaki's brilliant "Princess Mononoke" a few years back). "Spirited Away," which has just hit American shores dubbed in English, makes full use of the medium of animation to explore the primal themes of embarking on a quest, finding strength in a strange land, and returning a more mature version of yourself. A parable about greed, this is a film of simple wisdom and, at times, haunting visual beauty.

The movie relates the adventures of Chihiro, a young girl who reluctantly moves with her parents to a new hometown. On the way to their house, they come across a tunnel on a deserted road and, deciding to explore it on foot, end up in a strange netherworld inhabited by spirits. After her parents fall upon a ghostly banquet and are turned into pigs (which introduces the notion of gluttony), Chihiro is left on her own to find a way to save them and return to the human world. She is assisted in her pursuit by a mysterious boy, Haku, and becomes employed by a powerful witch named Yubaba, who runs a bath house (and looks like Mrs. Claus from Hell). In this wondrous place, Chihiro accepts all tasks put before her with politeness and determination (including catering to the bath needs of a Stink Demon, evicting a spirit named No Face after he has eaten several of her co-workers (more gluttony), and facing down a gigantic baby built like a sumo wrestler), all the while maintaining her humanity and helping to bring out the best in others. It goes without saying that she succeeds in her quest and emerges older and wiser.

Even with recent advances in technology, this film would probably not have the same degree of richness if it were not entirely animated. The array of creatures that Chihiro meets in the spirit world is dazzling (most notable: a herd of magically animated soot balls, a trio of bouncing, muttering green heads, and the comic pair of a fat mouse and his fly pal). I don't know how much of this stuff was already present in Japanese myth, but I think Miyazaki's imagination is still to be admired. In addition, the details of the spirit world are wonderfully drawn. I'm a sucker for a ride on the rails at all times, but "Spirited Away" includes a train scene of such intense beauty that it almost brought tears to my eyes. The lavish and fantastic visual effects, coupled with the solid story they highlight, make "Spirited Away" a fine film for both adults and kids.

Copyright © 2002 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.