Part of this year’s directive is to expand the genres and sources of the films I screen. “Spirited Away” fits this bill, both by introducing my cinema project’s first Japanese film and, significantly, my first animated film (the first I’ve seen by famed storyteller Hayao Miyazaki). And I had to work for this one! After 64 successful digital rentals, this was the first film unavailable online. I had to buy a DVD for goodness sake! But, considering the film’s widespread acclaim, I was excited to shuffle my schedule and make the effort.
“Spirited Away” is the story of Chihiro Ogino, a young girl struggling with a move to a new home. On the way, her parents take a shortcut and begin to eat food left at an empty restaurant stall when a dark magic turns them into pigs. Lost and alone, Chihiro follows the advice of a young boy named Haku and attempts to get a job at a magical bathhouse for Japanese spirits, full of unique and vivid characters. This work is initially hard but through kindness and work ethic, she finds herself navigating the world. That is, until young love drives her to a grand adventure.
I really wanted to love "Spirited Away". Like other film’s I’ve seen with tremendous acclaim and huge followings (“2001: A Space Odyssey”, “The Breakfast Club”, “A Christmas Story”), I expected to be blown away and wasn’t. I found the plot to be meandering and implausible (not just the magic stuff, but how the humans reacted). The film heavily parallels “Alice in Wonderland” or “The Wizard of Oz” and like those film, leans heavily on fantastical characters without making much sense.
That’s not to say this film isn’t special, in a way. First of all, the character design is absolutely magical. The animation is stunning and as thorough as it gets and the musical score is top notch. I also am fully aware that there’s some pretty heavy symbolism about growing up and capitalism in Japan that fell flat on me through this first viewing. That’s the point of expanding to international films this year—to get exposure to the art of other countries without the assumption that I’ll immediately understand it. So acknowledging that, I liked this film! Just not “4th best animated film of all time”/“2nd best film of this century” liked it, as some have announced in praise.