Plot: On his journey to find a cure for a curse that will eventually kill him, Ashitaka finds himself in the middle of a war between the forest gods and the people of Iron Town. In this quest and hoping to build peace between the two rivals, he meets Mononoke, a human girl raised by a wolf god who has turned against humans.
Review: Everytime I see a Miyazaki film, I am blown away by this man's brilliance. And this film is no exception.
Firstly, this film incorporates the great majority of Hayao Miyazaki's well-known themes and trademarks in film.
We have characters who are good or evil. But like in some of Miyazaki films, we don't always know the distinction. Is a character good or evil? Do they just appear to be? For example, we have the people of Iron Town destroying the forest, led by Lady Eboshi. But this is a woman who also shelters the outcasts of Japan like prostitutes and lepers. Therefore, it is hard to condemn because she has that morality that makes us sympathize with her because she sympathizes with others. We also have the animal gods turning against one another at some point so what you may see as good and evil all depends on your point of view. This is what I like about the film's plot. It allows us to see all sides of the issues and agree and not agree with almost every character.
The film has a big environmental theme, which is another trademark Hayao Miyazaki. It shows us the balance that we have to incorporate between the civilizations of man and the nature of the forest. We also see how deadly man can be to animal. The boar was shot by Lady Eboshi, causing him to turn into a demon that cursed Ashitaka. And we also have the side of how deadly animal can be to man. We have some female characters claiming their husbands to be killed by wolves.
The film also gives us another question- what does it mean to be human? We have San (also known as Princess Mononoke), a human girl raised by a wolf god, who now despises humans for what they have done and continue to do to the forest. Her refusal to accept her own humanity makes you wonder what really makes you human besides your flesh.
This is a film for teens and young adults. I've seen Spirited Away, Kiki's Delivery Service, Ponyo, My Neighbour Totoro, all family-orientated films. This is a film for the older audience. The film is surprisingly violent. We have characters getting beheaded, arms being shot off by arrows, blood, violent deaths etc. This has a PG-13 rating for a reason. Don't assume because it's animated that it's kid friendly. I knew that it wouldn't be for young kids, but I was honestly surprised at how bloody this film actually is.
As for the voice casting in the English dub, I do believe that they tried to get as many celebrities that are well known to get good money at the box office and have an audience come. In the English dub, actors like Minnie Driver, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Billy Bob Thornton and Gillian Anderson doing voice work. It's not that I think they aren't good actors, but I feel that it was the wrong type of casting. In the other English dubs of his films, we have actors that are known, but not to that extent and it worked better. That's just my own theory.
I still consider Spirited Away to be Hayao Miyazaki's masterpiece, but this comes in a very, very close second. This is a wonderful, entertaining and brilliant film that should be watched by not only fans of anime and animation but film fans in general because this is a film that will leave you speechless.
Rating: 5/5
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