Princess Mononoke (Blu-ray + DVD)

Bottom Line First: To get the less than good news out of the way, Miyazaki’s Princes Mononoke is not for the very young. The violence can be graphic and bloody. The themes are not as clear cut as might be found in bed time stories. There is no sex or bad language making this movies acceptable to those who screen for such. And that brings me to the good news. Princes Mononoke combines complex storytelling, adult level plotting, the fine art work of Studio Ghibli and the casting power of the Disney Studios to produce a wonderful movie. Highly recommended and a star even among my other Miyazaki movies.Princes Mononoke could have been another man versus nature and the world out of balance movie we have seen too many times. Instead we have man and nature in conflict but with a near absence of obviously evil industrialists and purely motivated united forest spirits. Gods can become demons, and seen as evil by humans and nature. The tribes within the world of nature are not natural allies and can have their own selfish motives. The human who is supposed to embody evil, Lady Eboshi (Voice acted by Minnie Driver) is a fierce warrior and hard nosed business woman but she is also good to her people and makes a point of finding better lives for people who would be cast offs and shunned in the larger world.On the subject of voice overs, Disney deserves credit having assembled a cast that included Billy Bob Thornton, Gillian Anderson, Claire Danes and Billy Crudup. Made too clear to us in the included specials is the extra effort made by the voice actors and Disney to insure that the American dialogue fits with the animated Japanese speaking characters.As for the work of the director and his studio. What struck me most about Princes Mononoke was the balance between artistic detail and the flow of the story. Hayao Muyazaki has a tendency for story lines that can drag. I prefer to say they speed of motion can be stately. The Wind Rises remains among my favorite HM movies, but like The Wife says it is slow. Even the action movieLupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro (Collector's Edition) can drag, usually when the Studio is highlighting it's artwork. In Princess there was no lag in the story line. Scene action and plot development move logically forward even in the moments when the viewer is invited to enjoy the scenery.But what artwork it is! Studio Ghibli is always at its best drawing the sky and aerial views. Ghibli is also the master of fields and forests. Sometimes at the cost of foregrounds, manmade and human details. In Princess all of the elements view together in harmony. It may be that some level of detail has been lost, but if so, only to produce a more balanced picture. Studio Ghibli movies can be fine visual art at the expense of movement, I never felt that watching Princess Mononoke.

Hayao Miyazaki’s 1997 film, “Princess Mononoke,” tells a work of historical fantasy set during the Muromachi period in Japan, following Prince Ashitaka as he becomes embroiled in a conflict between the gods of the forest and the humans consuming its resources. When a demon poisons the prince, he must travel to find the source of the poison. Along the way, he encounters the monk Jigo, who wants to hunt the Great Forest Spirit. They see a wolf pack with a human girl, San, among their number. When the wolves attack, Lady Eboshi and her men repel them and bring Ashitaka to Iron Town, a fortress on a mountain that the inhabitants have stripped of its trees to build and contain their massive forge. San and the wolves come to kill Eboshi for hurting the forest, but Ashitaka prevents the humans and forest gods from killing each other. He is injured and San brings him to the Great Forest Spirit for healing. Even as he recovers, the boar gods plan an attack on the humans. Jigo enlists Lady Eboshi to use the boars to find the Great Forest Spirit, which he succeeds in beheading, throwing the world out of balance. The story is a lovely metaphor for environmentalism and balance, recalling other films that addressed those themes in the 1980s and 1990s. Further, while some characters may act as antagonists, there are no true villains. Lady Eboshi may harm the forest, but she cares for people that society would normally stigmatize. Jigo may want to hunt, but he can also admit when he’s wrong. The wolf gods, boar gods, and ape gods may be scary at times, but they act under duress from industrialization. In “Princess Mononoke,” Miyazaki crafted a particularly great film worthy of both casual and scholarly attention.

Good

This is an extraordinary achievement, the work of not only a master animator but a master director. It is probably the greatest environmental film. No other film comes close, with the depth of vision and remarkable execution of a war between man and beast, industry and nature, and the journey of one person who seeks to reconcile both sides. It is a spiritual and cathartic experience that remains relevant in the world we live in today. Never does it get didactic; the film challenges the viewer to consider all perspectives and to see from a much deeper place than good vs. evil, a hugely admirable choice on the part of its director.I am astonished every time I watch for so many reasons. It's so moving, how the main character Ashitaka is tainted by the boar demon, a figure unlike any depicted in animation, and must leave his secluded village. As he does, he witnesses Japan modernize from a traditional society before his eyes. The storytelling is terrific, as we'd expect from Hayao Miyazaki. But here his action sequences and characterization are at their most impressive. So many incredible characters and creatures, from the elusive warrior-leader Lady Eboshi of Iron Town to her foil, part-human part-animal San, the Mononoke Hime. Neither are villains, but see the world through their own experiences. Eboshi, in particular, is fascinating; she is a female ruler in feudal Japan, cares deeply for Iron Town, and gives work to prostitutes and lepers in a time when they would have been marginalized. Yakul, Ashitaka's loyal friend, and the Kodama are unforgettable and vital additions to the Studio Ghibli pantheon, as is the omniscent, yet apathetic Forest Spirit---a singular creation. The scene when he heals Ashitaka in the pool is simply sublime, one of the most gorgeously animated in the film, with its compelling use of sound and silence. Of course, there's also the stunning music score by Joe Hisaishi at his best that sweeps you from the very beginning. This is Miyazaki firing on all cylinders, his tremendous creativity, his level of craftsmanship and detail, the maturity of his film, how he remains ever optimistic that we may co-exist with nature. His passion and compassion are inspiring. I think this may be the greatest animated movie ever made and comes with my highest recommendation, both the Japanese/with English subtitles and the English version, particularly the magnificent voice-over work of Minnie Driver and Gillian Anderson.