Tag: era: 1980s

Categories
anime anti-war drama, melodrama

Film Review of “Hotaru no haka” (Grave of the Fireflies)

Takahata Isao’s 1988 animation film Hotaru no haka (Grave of the Fireflies) tells a heartwarming but sad story of a fourteen-year-old brother and his little younger sister, who have to survive under the cruel war. It is worth mentioning that this piece has been regarded by some Western movie commentators as one of the most influential anti-war movies. This Japanese animation film is worth winning our attention because of its technical achievements alone: the use of fantastic and delicate color and beautiful background music. By these accomplishments, Hotaru no haka will probably always attract audiences from many countries and of different generations, however, from my point of view, the reason why the film is so fascinating is that it reflects the destruction of the war on Japanese society. The film may be more important as it attempts to show the disaster caused by the war on human society to all audiences especially for people who has experienced wars.

As a film with a clear war/anti-war theme, the indictment for the war is primarily focused on the ravages of the war on society and individuals. In the movie, the characters’ family could have been very happy: their mother is beautiful and elegant, and their father is a naval officer, who is respected by other people, however, the cruel war took away the lives of their parents. Thus, these two poor kids become orphans. Although it could be luck for them to escape from the bomb raid, they have lost their happy family forever and have to face hunger. I found myself totally attracted by the honest description of the two characters’ suffering about the war from one scene the most. It is a scene that the brother is playing in the water with his younger sister at the beach. The relentless war can’t stop the deep feelings between the brother and his younger sister. At this time, the recall is expanding and the brother’s mind is gradually filled by memories: in the same place during the peacetime when their mother was still alive, they were so happy as they could play carefree and plenty of fine food was waiting for them to eat. Soon, his mind pulled back by the fighters’ sound…Therefore, Hotaru no haka provides the audiences with an honest look at how such war is in the Japanese history. What this film highlights, however, is not only the true reflection of the destruction of the war on the society but also how it presents human nature throughout this cruel war. From my point of view, what the film wants to display in addition to the mutilation of the relentless war on human is that under such extreme living conditions, human nature exists beyond all. I still remember the scene in which the brother degenerates into a thief and shouts “let the bomb come” violently.

After watching this film, I would like to present some personal views about some previous war/anti-war films that were manufactured in China. In most of our previous war/anti-war films, the description of the war is different in our movies. Our soldiers are always very brave and wise while the enemy is in the country. We always win, the enemies always fail. Rather than demonstrating the performance of human nature in the war/anti-war film, our film shows too much of our courage, wisdom, tenacity and strength. How come such unreal portrayal which lacks a description of human nature can strongly touch audiences’ hearts!

In conclusion, I consider this film as the best war/anti-war film I have ever watched and strongly recommend it to people who haven’t seen it yet.

Categories
anime experimental literary adaptations

“Akira”: A Visual Feast of Decay, Destruction and Rebirth

Akira, released in 1988, is a science-fiction anime movie directed by Otomo Katsuhiro and based on his 6-volume manga series of the same name. Set in 2019 in post-war Neo-Tokyo, the movie follows the leader of a youth bike gang, Kaneda, as he attempts to rescue his gang friend, Tetsuo, who has been kidnapped and is being subjected to scientific experimentation.
The movie begins with a shot of what appears to be an atomic explosion that annihilates Tokyo in 1988, signaling the start of World War III. Viewers are then fast-forwarded to the post-war city of Neo-Tokyo in 2019, a monstrous neon metropolis built on an artificial island in the middle of Tokyo Bay. Here, viewers are presented with scenes of chaos: bike gang battles, anti-government rioting, and terrorism. The storyline begins by following a bike gang, led by Kaneda, as they fight another gang, the Clowns. During a chase scene with the Clowns, Kaneda’s friend, Tetsuo, crashes his bike into #26, a child-mutant produced by scientific experiments, and is seriously injured. Army personnel arrive at the scene and take #26 and Tetsuo back to their laboratories. Kaneda comes into contact with the resistance group that had tried to kidnap #26, and joins them in an attempt to rescue Tetsuo from further scientific experimentation. However, they are too late, and discover that Tetsuo has already been turned into a mutant being with supernatural powers. After laying waste to security forces that try to contain him, Tetsuo goes in search of Akira, a legendary entity that supposedly sparked the 1988 explosion. Kaneda continues his mission, but must now save Tetsuo from himself. The two meet near, and eventually inside, the Olympic Stadium where they fight in an epic showdown before Tetsuo begins to completely lose control of himself and his powers.
The funding, resources, and manpower needed to create Akira were made possible by a consortium of Japanese entertainment companies called the Akira Committee, an entity that became the movie’s producer. Such strong financial backing allowed Otomo to devote a large amount of resources and time to the animation process. As a result, viewers will notice the detail put into the animation technique used in Akira, cel-shading, is extremely precise. The intricacy and density of the cels gives Akira an unprecedented feeing of fluidity and realism. The colors used in Akira’s cels are also bright and highly varied. The intricate cels and vibrant colors make Akira’s numerous battle and protest scenes, as well as Tetsuo’s mutations, even more frantic, violent, and realistic. High-speed chase scenes that follow the gang’s motorcycles feel incredibly fluid. Overhead shots and fly-bys of Neo-Tokyo also benefit from the high-end animation: viewers get a real sense of the city’s expansiveness (both vertical and horizontal) and complexity. Also noteworthy in Akira is the detail put into the facial speech animations, making it seem as though the animated characters are truly pronouncing and meaning the words they speak. Even by today’s standards, Akira is still visually impressive.
Looking past all of the visually pleasing action and destruction, viewers may find that Akira’s subtext addresses numerous issues facing late twentieth-century Japanese society. Indeed, themes of decay such as consumerism, social unrest, corruption, and juvenile delinquency, as well as themes of destruction such as memories of the World War II nuclear bombings are present throughout the movie. Perhaps most noteworthy is the theme of nuclear destruction and re-growth as it relates to Japan’s post-World-War-II experience. In the wake of the conventional and nuclear Allied bombings during World War II, Tokyo and much of the rest of Japan lay in ruins. From the ashes, Japan was able to rebuild itself once more into a thriving economy and society. In a similar fashion, Akira’s Neo-Tokyo had been built from the ashes of the nuclear explosion experienced during a fictional World War III. From the outset of the movie, it is apparent that Neo-Tokyo is again approaching the end of another destruction/reconstruction cycle: it is unstable, corrupt, filthy, and decaying from within. Viewers are presented with numerous scenes that signal the impending collapse: rioters take to the streets and are confronted by armed and brutal police, explosions are set off by terrorist groups, and corruption and ineptitude are evident in meetings held by the city’s government. The city’s young, too, have become delinquent, as exemplified by Kaneda’s bike gang and their revelry in violence and vandalism. To make clear the severity of the decay, one of the child-mutants in the laboratory, #25, Kiyoko, delivers an ominous prophecy in the first third of the movie: “The city will crumble”. Conveyed by Akira’s theme of destruction and reconstruction is a fear, and possibly a warning, that Japan will never escape this cyclic process of death/birth/re-growth that started in World War II; Japan will eternally fall prey to excess, greed, corruption, only to annihilate itself, reconstruct, and start the process anew.
Akira is not only a spectacular piece of animation, but also a much deeper look into concerns facing Japanese society. The storyline weaves the viewer through the decay occurring within the city of Neo-Tokyo – rampant consumerism, juvenile delinquency, civil unrest, and corruption – while also bringing attention to post-war fears of further nuclear destruction and rebirth. Akira’s influence outside of Japan has been far-reaching, and has been included in Michael Jackson’s music video, Scream, as well as Kanye West’s music video, Stronger. The movie has numerous scenes of violence that involve animations of blood and gore, and profanities are used often. Akira is truly a must see for fans of animation, anime or for those interested in Japanese culture.

Categories
anime anti-war drama, melodrama

No Better Approach than the Anime: “Grave of the Fireflies” and Emotional Representation

Takahata Isao’s Grave of the Fireflies (Hotaru no haka, 1988) is an anime film which tells the tragic story of a young pre-teen boy and his younger sister who struggle to survive during the final years of WWII in Kobe, Japan. For an animated film, Grave of the Fireflies deals with an extremely sensitive and realistic topic. Though this may be common to the Japanese anime tradition, where serious topics are often depicted in animated form, I think those who have a more westernized view of animated films will be surprised at the emotional intensity in Takahata’s Grave of the Fireflies. Instead of taking away from or making light of such important issues like, the Kobe air raids, the animation does the opposite. There is a way in which the anime is able to distance the viewer in order to reach an emotional truth or universality that live-action films cannot replicate. Therefore, as an anime film, Grave of the Fireflies is able to handle the sensitive/traumatic subject of war trauma or victimization, to great effect.

The film begins with a shot on an adolescent boy named Seita. He is basked in red light and his voiceover says, “September 21, 1945…that was the night I died.” A tin can is found by his lifeless body and is tossed away. A small white bone falls out and the spirit of Seita’s little sister, Setsuko appears. She looks around puzzled but is soon joined by the spirit of her brother. The siblings happily rejoice and share candy fruit drops from the tin can as they ride the train. The film is then told in flashback and cuts to Seita, Setsuko and their mother preparing to evacuate their home, because of an oncoming air raid. The film follows the siblings as they struggle to find food and shelter after their home and city is destroyed by the bombings.

From the first scene, the spectator instantly knows the film deals with death, tragedy and real historical events. Yet the film is able to avoid feeling too dramatized or overwhelming by the sheer fact that it is in animation. Animation is associated with children, exaggeration and elaborated stories. Because of this familiar connotation, dramatization or unrealistic portrayals can be expected in the anime genre. For instance, in the opening scene, the red luminous lighting which represents a sort of afterlife, evokes a haunting atmosphere, but it is oversaturated and stylized. As well, and most obvious, are the drawings of the characters. Seiki and Setsuko are in no way realistically drawn. They have exaggerated features. As a result, even though the film presents overwhelming amounts of tragedy and events, that are very realistic, the audience can better accept or invest in these emotions because the characters are not “real” people and they live in this animated world that is distant from our own. In Susan J. Napier’s article, she mentions that the “animation’s simplified representation allow[s] for easier identification on the part of the viewer” (167). Even though the story is based on writer Nosaka Akiyuki’s real life, the characters in the story are not based on or look like real life people. Seiki and Setsuko have such basic features that they can basically represent any Japanese child. It gives the film a universal quality, where people can easily identify with the siblings rather than trying to connect with a personalized account.

Napier also points out how the “graphics of manga or anime can help “convey the unconveyable” of the bomb’s horror (166). This comes back to the idea of genre expectations and the viewer already accepting the limitedness or exaggerated nature of the animated world. When Seiki and Setsuko observe the landscape of Kobe and see how everything is destroyed, the viewer does not question this visual representation. It’s not that animation is better at accurately capturing the truth but it’s that we are less inclined to critique it. It’s difficult to say that an anime film is dramatizing, or is unrealistically representing something, because animation is not a form that traditionally tries to be realistic. For example, when Seiki sees his mother completely wrapped up in bandages and bleeding from underneath, the image is very exaggerated. However, the audience does not roll their eyes at this dramatic image because it does not seem dramatized within an anime context. The viewer can then remain focused on the emotions of the scenes without being fazed by the overstated image. Another way in which anime works better in conveying the horrors of war is that it’s simply easier to draw the destroyed landscape or injured civilians, than to do it with real sets and actors. Even with CGI and advanced technology, the live-action film then risks being too contrived through its highly artificial approach in representing such sensitive and serious subjects. Special effects with computers or rigs, then becomes more unrealistic or in “bad taste,” as Napier would say, than the usage of manga or anime.

Takahata’s Grave of the Fireflies is certainly one of the saddest films I have ever seen. The fact that it is in animation does not cross your mind since you become so invested in the lives of these two children. However, after watching the film you begin to realize that the reason you were able to get so invested in the pure emotion of the story, is that the animation is able to distance the viewer enough so they don’t get distracted by issues of inaccurate or unrealistic representation.

Works Cited

Napier, Susan J. Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation. New York: Palgrave, 2001. Web. 29 Oct. 2010.

Categories
action drama, melodrama jidai-geki literary adaptations

The Winds of Change, Akira Kurosawa’s “Ran”

After a monumental career, Kurosawa Akira directs his last great epic in 1985’s Ran. Although Kurosawa would continue making films after Ran, they would not approach the scope and scale of this highly celebrated film. Set in ancient Japan, the film is a jidaigeki (period-piece) about an aging warlord ceding power to his three sons. The story, itself an interpretation of William Shakespeare’s King Lear, focuses on the themes of aging, regret, and change. To portray these themes it was necessary for Kurosawa to enlist highly talented actors. This was especially true for the complex lead role of Lord Ichimonji whose gradual self-destruction is brilliantly realized by Tatsuya Nakadai. Alongside Nakadai are Terao Akira, Nezu Jinpachi, and Ryu Daisuke playing his sons Taro, Jiro and Saburo respectively. Shinnosuke ‘Peter’ Ikehata also makes an appearance as Lord Ichimonji’s inseparable jester.

The film opens with a hunting expedition in the mountains held by Lord Ichimonji, his three sons, several advisors and his jester Kyoami. Lord Ichimonji, after a startling dream, uses this occasion to express his plan to abdicate the throne. The decision to hand power to his sons is met with mixed reaction. His youngest son Saburo becomes increasingly insolent, vehemently speaking his mind and is ultimately banished. Because Saburo is now out of the picture, Lord Ichimonji leaves all his power and territory to his two eldest sons Taro and Jiro, with the intention to live out his remaining days as their guest. This change to the balance of power quickly gives rise to conflict as Jiro is envious of his elder brother’s superior position, and Lord Ichimonji does not adapt well to his new lack of authority. In the chaos that ensues, Taro and Jiro plot each other’s demise while Lord Ichimonji is shunned by both and left to wander the countryside. The brother’s conflict quickly leads to war, and Lord Ichimonji, consumed by guilt for his past atrocities, grows increasingly insane. As the film progresses, many lives are lost, and the sins of Lord Ichimonji’s past haunt him in his quest for solace.

Among the key themes Kurosawa addresses in his film is the concept of change. The film’s title itself, Ran, can be roughly translated as ‘chaos’. Although there is much chaos found within the film, all the chaos stems from change, and the evolution of order into disorder. One way Kurosawa represents change is by continuously returning to brief shots of the sky, and more specifically of clouds transforming. In the opening scene of the film, Lord Ichimonji takes a nap after a day of hunting wild boar. During this nap Kurosawa inserts a brief but telling shot of the clouds shifting. As implied by the foreshadowing, change is quickly instituted as Lord Ichimonji awakens from his dream and announces his plan to abdicate. Kurosawa often returns to this device throughout the film, and the transformation of the clouds becomes more rapid and threatening as the conflict they oversee escalates.

A large portion of the film deals with Lord Ichimonji drifting through the countryside tortured by his past and his inability to change it. During his descent into madness, the only person to remain by his side is his jester Kyoami. Kurosawa utilizes Kyoami to not only provide contrast to Lord Ichimonji’s rambling, but also to narrate the film. In this manner, Kyoami is like a cryptic benshi, explaining the plot development through metaphor. In one scene Kyoami orates a seemingly random story of a bird choosing to look after a snake egg because it is white and pure. After the egg hatches, the bird is attacked. This story reflects the situation of Lord Ichimonji being betrayed by Taro and Jiro who had previously appeared more innocent and loving than Saburo.

In addition to excellent character development, beautiful cinematography and an engaging musical score, Ran also includes several elaborately staged battle scenes. These scenes are brought to life through the use of countless extras, filling the ranks of Kurosawa’s impressive armies. Similar to his previous films such as 1980’s Kagemusha, Kurosawa seems intent on showing the brutality of war and focuses on the casualties more so than the action itself. This element of action serves to drive the plot and is also highly entertaining on an purely aesthetic level.

Throughout his career Kurosawa was responsible for making several epic films of this proportion, and the accumulation of his experience and artistry is well displayed in Ran. Because the film delivers on both an intellectual level, and is engaging to watch due to the excellent acting performances and thrilling battle scenes, audiences of a wide range can enjoy this classic of Japanese cinema.

Categories
anti-war gendai-geki literary adaptations shomin-geki

Forever Victims of the Atomic Bomb

Imamura Shōhei’s Black Rain or in Japanese Kuroi ame was based on Ibuse Masuji’s novel Black Rain and released in 1989; the genre is war. His cast members include Tanaka Yoshiko playing Yasuko, Kitamura Kazuo playing Shigematsu – Yasuko’s uncle, and Ichihara Etsuko playing Aunt Shigeko. The film is based on the Hiroshima nuclear bombing of 1945, its impact on the Japanese people, and their recovery process. The nation is never the same again after the horrific bombing and its toll on the people of Hiroshima is highlighted with utmost realism in the black and white movie.

The film starts by showing us Yasuko, a young college graduate being evacuated out of Hiroshima. She rides on the back of a neighbour’s truck to ship her, her uncle, and her aunt’s belonging out of Hiroshima. The morning seems to be peaceful, quiet, with crabs on the beautiful glistening stream creating a contrast before the horrific nuclear bombing. After the bomb is dropped we get a picture of the big luminous mushroom cloud rising and dropping its black ashes on the people of Hiroshima; the lighting in the film darkens as Yasuko re-enters Hiroshima to find her uncle. As the black rain caused by the nuclear bomb begin to drop on Yasuko we get a close-up of her lost and fearful expression as the rain begins to discolour her face; her expression outlines the feeling of all Hiroshima citizens. When Yasuko, Uncle Shigematsu, and Aunt Shigeko cross the city to take refuge at Shigematsu’s workplace, they as well as the viewers witness the suffering of Hiroshima citizens. The suffering is intensified when a child called Kyuzo walks up to his brother and his brother cannot even recognize him due to his terribly melting skin hanging from his body; the chaos further increases when we see a close-up shot of a woman cradling her dead baby with a lifeless insane look increasing the agony. Moreover the film shows people being buried alive or running around half-dead crying out for help.

After the horrific vivid scenes from the day of the atomic bombing the scene quickly jumps to the aftermath where Yasuko and her uncle walk out of the doctor’s office with her health certificate. After the bomb people start to realize that even indirect exposure to radiation makes people sick as well. Incorrect rumours start formulating and one of them is that radiation sickness could be contagious. Yasuko has trouble finding a husband due to this fear of radiation sickness. The film also shows other survivors being subjected to discrimination and seen as either dangerous for contaminating others, or lazy because they are not working due to radiation sickness. Yuichi, one of Yasuko’s neighbours, goes delirious whenever an automobile passes because he thinks it is an enemy tank. Like the crazy Yuichi who fought in the war and has gone crazy, the victims of the A-bomb are forever entrapped by it. Practically everyone in the film is damaged by the war and one by one the victims die or continue to suffer from fear of death. The film later shows us three A-bomb victims fishing due to their radiation sickness. A woman passes by and ridicules them for being lazy saying they are “happy-go-lucky people”. She represents all other Japanese people who want to and can move on losing sympathy for these A-bomb victims who remind them of the war. Everyone forgets the “hell of fire,” forgetting its victims and their ongoing pain.

Yasuko’s uncle Shigematsu takes to copying Yasuko and his wartime diary after the doctor’s health certificate fails to get Yasuko a marriage for the third time. He takes to copying these diaries to explain that Yasuko was not in Hiroshima when the bombing happened. The difficulty of finding Yasuko a husband occurs throughout the film. Yasuko highlights the desperation of the A-bomb victims and their entrapment by the war. The bomb has taken life, joy, and personality away from Yasuko and all its victims; they are confined to certain activities and for Yasuko she cannot even find anyone willing to marry her. All the victims can think about is how the disease will eventually get the best of them. They are a “community bound by the bomb” and in the end Yasuko even refuses her suitor because she thinks she is not good enough for anyone. As Shigematsu engages in the copying the diaries the film jumps back to August 6th, the day of the bombing. Everything is ablaze, cries for help everywhere, and the lighting gets dark again. As Yasuko, her uncle, and her aunt crosses a stream, burned corpses with their facial features un-recognizable floats pass them adding to the horror. One father could not even save his son leaving him burning in the fire to save himself; as he runs away the son yells for help continuously. We get another flashback as the villagers are performing a funeral service for a soldier from Takafuta. The present mixed with flashbacks reflects the fact that these victims cannot escape; unlike the vanished Hiroshima they have to live with the symptoms and the ongoing fear of sickness forever. The A-bomb victims are dying like “guinea pigs” and the ones that survived are trapped forever not knowing when the radiation sickness will hit them; they cannot work or engage in tiring activities and worst of all are discriminated by fellow countrymen. One by one the A-bomb victims in the village dies luring Yasuko into a growing fear that she may be next.

Black Rain is a movie successful in portraying a nation destroyed by war and the magnitude of the effect of the inhumane atomic bomb. The many grotesque and shocking images of corpse and burned victims in the city of Hiroshima deliver a clear anti-war sentiment reminding viewers the horror of the war itself. The Americans inflicted a lot of pain on the Japanese people of Hiroshima however the Japanese people who were not affected by the bomb discriminated against their own people inflicting mental pain as well. The film criticizes the war and outlines the fact that it brings out the worse in human beings. The country like its A-bomb victims will never be the same again. The film makes it easy for the viewer to identify and feel for the people affected by the A-bomb; repulsed not only by the gruesome image of victims but the war itself. The film depicts the horror and suffering of people when the bomb dropped on Hiroshima and their inescapable agony in realistic way; their suffering so realistically depicted with the many incidents shown during the bombing and after the viewer can feel magnitude piercing through them as well. The film shows vivid images and cries of the dying victims imprinting the cruelty of war into the viewers’ minds. The film provides specific stories of different people and how they are getting affected during the aftermath. It shows individual perspectives and does not group everyone’s suffering into one making it easier to sympathize with the victims. After hearing the news about dropping A-bomb on Korea, Uncle Shigematsu expresses the message of the film; humans just strangle themselves and cannot learn. He says this while the room is only filled with two old people – him and his mother, intensifying the hopelessness for the people of Hiroshima. The final scene contains the only close-up of uncle Shigematsu showing his face filled with sadness as he prays for the health of Yasuko; the sorrow of the Hiroshima victims is reflected in his helpless painful expression. The world after the bomb fell is even more colourless, just like the darkening of the lighting in the already black and white film.

Categories
anime

“Castle in the Sky”

Castle in the Sky, known as Tenkū no shiro Rapyuta in Japan, was first released in Japan in 1986 and later released in the United States under its English name in 1998. This animated film was written and directed by popular award-winning artist Miyazaki Hayao. The main characters Pazu and Sheeta are voiced by Tanaka Mayumi and Yokozawa Keiko respectively. This film is the Japanese version of the animation with the storyline touching on the themes of aviation technology and the good and evil sides of human nature. The two main characters of this animation Pazu and Sheeta are on a quest to uncover the mysteries of Sheeta’s family history and the mysterious floating city of Laputa.

Sheeta escapes from captivity by the government agents during a raid by Dola and her family of sky pirates and is saved from her stone pendant as she falls towards the earth from the space ship. Together, with her rescuer, Pazu, they escape the continuous pursuits of the sky pirates and government agents while learning along the way about the powers of the stone she inherited. After becoming more acquainted, they grow fond of each other. The two children part ways after they are captured by Muska and his crew of government agents. Sheeta agrees to aid him in his quest to find Laputa in exchange for Pazu’s safe release. After returning home, he finds the sky pirates having a feast at his house. He informs them of what has happened and pleads with them to take him along on their mission to rescue Sheeta and reach Laputa before Muska and his crew does. Meanwhile, Muska uncovers key secrets that will lead him to Laputa’s whereabouts.

During the length of the film, I enjoyed the director’s drawing of frames depicting the scene from numerous different angles. The different angles allow viewers like myself to get a better feel of the setting, surroundings, and excitement the characters in the film is experiencing. For example, during the scene of the sky pirate comparing his muscles and toned body with a villager who is trying to protect Sheeta and Pazu, Miyazaki first illustrates the scene by drawing the men in close-up frames focusing on their toned muscles and then pulling back to show a cheering crowd that has been gathering. These combinations of scenes portray the intensity between the two men while the crowd and the wife of the villager are revealed in the background to add humorous and entertaining touches.

Another aspect of the film that really complimented my watching experience was the accompanying music and sound effects. The sound effects of guns firing, wood creaking, and echoes made the viewing experience smooth and exciting.  In the scene mentioned in the last paragraph where the men are comparing their body figures, the sound effects made it seem like the spectators are watching something entertaining instead of a fight that would turn into something serious. Meanwhile, the accompanying music clearly defines the mood of the scenes. For example, when Sheeta is falling from the space ship, the music played made the falling process seem tranquil and peaceful instead of being intimidating and chaotic.

After having enjoyed watching Castle in the Sky, I am now interested in viewing more animations from Miyazaki. The film is light-hearted, fast-paced, extremely exciting, and has left me reminiscing long after having finished the film. I would strongly recommend everyone, boy or girl, young or old, to watch this film as it has certainly become one of my all time favourite animations!

Categories
anime

Laputa’s Existence not a Dream but a Reality?

Miyazaki Hayao is well known for many of his animated movies. Tenku no Shiro Rapyuta (English title: Castle in the Sky), written and directed by Miyazaki is one of his famous works that was released in 1986. Castle in the Sky is a very pleasing movie that creates the feeling of excitement and enjoyment for the audience. Even though it is an animated film, we will see that the theme of power is being explored by Miyazaki throughout the movie. Also, this movie can be related to Sen to chihiro no kamikakushi (English title: Spirited Away), another movie by Miyazaki Hayao, for its adventurous and romantic atmosphere created by the two main characters in the story.

Castle in the Sky is an adventure movie about how two children are in search of Laputa, a legendary castle that is hidden behind the clouds in the sky. One of the children, Sheeta is accompanied by some government agents on a civilian airship. The ship is then attacked by a group of pirates which leads Sheeta to take a small necklace from one of the agents named Muska. The pirates’ leader, Dola seeks to rob the necklace but Sheeta prevents that from happening when she falls off the ship with the stone necklace on her. Her falling awakes the necklace’s power which emits a blue light that allows Sheeta to float gently down to the ground. Pazu, a young miner coincidently sees the blue light and decides to investigate the abnormal light that was slowly coming down. As Pazu gets closer to the blue light, he sees an unconscious Sheeta floating down and he decides to bring her to his house. At Pazu’s house, Sheeta learns that Pazu’s father accidently discovers Laputa. Pazu believe that Laputa does exist and he wants to find it for other people think it is just a myth. And then the story continues with the two children’s adventure on searching for the castle in the sky.

One thing that struck me about this movie was Miyazaki’s focus on the images of the characters. Miyazaki seems to like to focus the scene on a character’s facial expression which seems just like long steady and close up shots. For example, when in one of the scene, Pazu has been tied up at his own house by Dola, he begs Dola to release him because he wants to save and take care of Sheeta. This moment, the scene zooms in at Pazu’s face and even though it is only an animation, I was able to see clearly Pazu’s readiness in his eyes that all he was thinking at the moment of the scene was he wants to save Sheeta from the government and to take care of her after. Another example is when Sheeta was held prisoner by the government. A long steady and close-up focus shot at her facial expression occurs during the scene. From Sheeta’s expression at that time, I could see that in her eyes and facial expression that all she wants is freedom from the cage she was trapped in. Not only on these two children that the long steady close-up shots were used but Miyazaki uses it on characters that are more significant to the plot of the movie. It may seem obvious, what they want, but I think Miyazaki’s long steady close-up scene allows characters to show their true intentions deep inside their hearts or minds without stating it clearly. Even though it is an animated movie, it still surprises me that I can see what the characters are thinking with just the long steady close-up shots on them.

Another aspect I liked about this movie was the element of humour that Miyazaki inserts. The movie itself gives sympathy and a sad feeling for Sheeta who is an orphan and is being hunted down by pirates and government agents throughout the whole movie. It contributes to how Sheeta is always gloomy but because of the humour that Miyazaki puts in, I can see that Sheeta is not just a depressed girl but she can also become a joyful girl. This element of humour allows Sheeta to act as a character with a different mood.  Not only does this element of humour contribute to the character of Sheeta but it also gives the audience something to laugh at, which shows how entertaining and interesting this movie is.

This film gave me an understanding on how John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton stated “Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” The film gave an example of this quotation and I think Miyazaki is simply trying to teach people the theme about power. This film’s storyline was extremely interesting, and I found that the film was not too long nor too short which adds some credits towards the film. Overall, I would recommend Castle in the Sky to any viewers that like anime or any viewers that simply enjoy watching films.

Categories
jidai-geki

Ran

Ran (乱), which was released in 1985, is based on legends of the daimyo Mōri Motonari and the Shakespearean tragedy King Lear. This film was directed by the Japanese filmmaker Kurosawa Akira. The screenplay was written by Kurosawa and Hideo Oguni. This film is a jidai-geki (Japanese period drama). The title of this film, Ran, means chaos. This film makes us think about humanity, and how it is degenerated by war and power. This theme is illustrated through different characters, especially the two women in this film. They have similar experiences in the same conditions, but they have quite different personalities and values. The use of bright colors in this film makes the scene look like a living theatre, and also gives us a strong visual effect to strengthen our impression and understanding of this film.

This film is set during the age of feudalism in Japan. It is about sibling rivalry and the thirst for power in the Ichimonji clan. The great lord, Hidetora, leads the Ichimonji clan to gain control of a great deal of territory. When he feels he is old, he decides to abdicate and give control of his dominion to his eldest son, Taro; he also gives regional control of two smaller castles to his second son and third son, Jiro and Saburo. Taro and Jiro appear happy and supportive of this decision.  Only the third son, Saburo, opposes this decision, and he even says his father is foolish because of this decision. Thus he is banished by his father. However, just after Hidetora abdicates, his eldest son’s wife, Lady Kaede, begins to play her husband against his father.  Hidetora feels extremely disappointed in his eldest son and moves to the Jiro’s castle, but he receives the same treatment from his second son. Thus he sets up residence in the third castle, which is unoccupied because of Saburo’s departure, with his small army. Taro and Jiro join forces In order to destroy their father’s army and castle under Lady Keade’s guidance. Hidetora loses his entire army and begins a life of wandering with his court jester, the only other survivor. Jiro also takes this opportunity to kill his brother, Taro, and tries to become the ruler. In the final battle between Saburo and Jiro, Saburo comes to his father’s rescue.  Lady Kaede has achieved her purpose but all the others lose everything in the end.

In this film, there are two women who have quite similar experiences and circumstances, and even their endings are the same. However they have very different personalities and lives. They are Lady Kaede, Taro’s wife, and Lady Sue, Jiro’s wife. Hidetora killed their parents and pushed them to marry his two sons. Facing their enemy, these two women treat him in very different ways; Lady Kaede seeks revenge against the entire Ichimonji clan by successfully playing her husband against her father. After her husband dies, she threatens Jiro with a knife in order to keep her position, and then she sucks the blood from the cut she made in his throat, successfully seducing him and becoming his mistress.  She then forces him to kills his wife, Lady Sue, thereby obtaining her revenge and destroying the Ichimonji clan. She schemes to seek revenge against and destroy the Ichimonji clan. Before she dies, she says that she never regrets her actions; her purpose is to destroy the whole Ichimonji clan. She is just like a poppy which is beautiful but poisonous; she always sets herself in an advantageous position. Unlike Lady Kaede, Lady Sue is always a weak person. Although Hidetora forces her to marry Jiro after killing her parents, she treats her father-in-law quite differently. She is always peaceful and meek; facing her personal enemy, Hidetora, she is a filial daughter-in-law. She never hates him, and also tries to use Buddhism to influence and direct him.  Facing her blind brother, she is a loving and caring sister. She is killed when she tries to recover her brother’s beloved flute. Her desire is to withdraw from public life and live in peaceful seclusion. She is the embodiment of virtue in this film. She is like a pure lotus, which grows up from the filthy mud without being polluted. Kurosawa reinforces the contrast between these two women through the settings where they appear. Lady Kaede always appears in the castle’s throne room, which shows her position and power in society.  But Lady Sue always appears outdoors and alone except occasionally when she is with her blind brother and an attendant. It shows her powerlessness, and she exists on the margins of human society. In this film, Lady Kaede gives in to evil desires such as revenge while Lady Sue is able to remain unpolluted by power and war. These two women are like the same seeds that grow up in the same land, but blossom into different flowers.

Although this film is a tragedy, the color motif is bright. The scenery in this film is filled with a variety of colors most of the time. The contrast of colors is also very strong: Taro and his army are always presented in yellow; Jiro is red; Subora is blue; and Lady Kaede is white. Using these colors not only symbolizes the different characters’ personalities, but also enhances the visual effects of the film. For example, Jiro is presented in red, and his army also wears the red armor with red flags. The red colors look like blood, which represents bloodiness and violence; it also matches Jiro’s actions and his personality, which are bloody and violent. He joins his brother to fight and destroy his father’s army, and then he kills his brother to become the ruler. Moreover, the film also presents white clouds, blue sky, grass, dark castles, and soldiers dressed in colorful armor. These colorful scenes make the film look like a historical scroll painting, and also reflect the characters’ inner worlds and the development of the storyline. For example, clouds appear throughout the whole film, although there are only three scenes in which they are the focus. In the beginning of the film, Hidetora and his three sons are hunting in the paddock. They look like a harmonious family. Then the shot stops for a few seconds on the clouds.  The clouds seem pure white, in slow motion, and dignified, but a few black clouds appear indistinctly in the white clouds, which seem to hint at the despair under the harmonious surface. And so Hidetora gives his power to Taro (who is an insincere and unfilial person), and banishes filial Saburo (who is his only filial son) and a loyal minster.  Kurosawa also uses a feature of painting, the pure landscape, in making this film.  He uses landscapes to fill up the scenes with the characters set in a small place. It can make a strong contrast between humans’ smallness and nature’s magnificence. In the last scene, Lady Sue’s blind brother stands alone on the top of the city wall. The painting of Buddha suddenly slides down to the city wall below from his hand.  Meanwhile, the camera pans the shot; under the pale yellow background, the image of the blind brother grows smaller, until his silhouette almost blends into the background. This scene gives viewers a dismal, powerless and vacant feeling, as if the tragic fate will not stop with the ruin of the Ichimoji clan. The tragedy is like karma, which will continue forever.

In conclusion, this film was made by Kurosawa later in his career, and it is permeated with thoughts of humanism. It reveals humanity, and gives us heavy thoughts. In the end of the film, the only survivor is Tsurumaru, Lady Sue’s blind brother. Because he is harmless and ordinary, he survives. This film is filled with chaos, such as the jumbled battlefield, ethics, family and colors.  In the chaos, the ugly aspects of humanity emerge; it brings to the audience many thoughts about the sadness of troubled times, frightfulness, and goodness of human nature, and the ridiculousness of history.

Categories
anime comedy

Totoro: The Spiritual Guardian

The 1988 Studio Ghibli film, Tonari no Totoro (English title: My Neighbor Totoro), written and directed by Miyazaki Hayao, is a fantasy-filled anime well-known to most Japanese. The main characters are the Kusakabe sisters – Satsuki (Hidaka Noriko) and Mei (Sakamoto Chika), and Totoro (Takagi Hitoshi).

When Satsuki and Mei move to Matsugo, the countryside, with their father to be closer to their hospitalized mother, they are thrilled by the discovery that the forest surrounding their rickety, “haunted house” is inhabited by magical creatures. They are left dubious upon finding acorns falling from the ceiling as they explore their new home. The girls first encounter makkuro-kuro-suke or susuwatari (black soot), when they open the back kitchen door. The grandma from next door explains that these creatures are only visible to children. When four-year old Mei finds a number of shiny acorns consecutively as she plays in the garden, she picks them up one by one until she spots a little half-invisible to solid white creature. As she follows the creature, it is joined by another medium-sized gray creature. They go into the forest, into the hole on the bottom of a huge camphor tree, where Mei meets an even larger creature of the same kind, named Totoro. She befriends Totoro and before long, she falls asleep on his tummy. She is awakened by Satsuki, who finds her younger sister sleeping on the forest ground. Though Mei tries to find Totoro to prove that she met him, she is left frustrated, unable to revisit her recent adventure.

Satsuki meets Totoro when she and Mei wait for their father to come home in the rain at the bus stop. Entertained by the sound of the raindrops falling on the umbrella, Totoro takes the black umbrella that Satsuki lends him on to the cat bus that picks him up. In return, he gives the girls tree seeds wrapped in bamboo leaves, which they plant in their garden. After the night they experience the magical workings of Totoro, the sisters are convinced that the magic was “a dream but not a dream” – that the magical creatures as portrayed in their picture book are real in their eyes. Finally, when Mei is disheartened by the news of her ill mother not being able to come home for the weekend, she gets into an argument with Satsuki that provokes her into running off on her own, determined to go to Shichikokuyama hospital. Satsuki, with the help of the villagers, search for the missing Mei. After long hours of searching and the villagers losing hope, Satsuki is struck with an idea that she believes is the last resort.

The family-friendly anime reflects the typical Japanese family lifestyle, as well as the culture and traditions embedded in the theme of spirituality. The ritual of taking a bath at night, especially parent-child bathing, is a common practice for Japanese families, and is a way of bonding. This is portrayed when Satsuki and Mei are bathing with their father. They are frightened by the strong wind blowing outside, but with good times and laughter, they weather all fear, even the makkuro-kuro-suke that are said to reside in dark, empty houses. Hanging laundry outside in the morning is also another standard custom, as the sun rays entail purification. These scenes imply the concept of driving evil or unwanted spirits away, only welcoming the good ones, like the “ghost” Totoro. The fact that Totoro is a favorable spirit is made apparent when the girls and their father greet the camphor tree to show respect as new residents in the village. The sweet corn that Mei picks from the vegetable farm of the grandma next door symbolizes a cure for her ill mother, as the grandma tells the girls that vegetables from her garden are healthy and can cure all diseases. Believing the corn would heal her mother, Mei takes it with her as she tries to find her way to the hospital after the quarrel with Satsuki. Other scenes suggesting Buddhist/Shinto values common in traditional Japan include one where Satsuki and Mei pray to Ojizôsama (stone statues of the Jizô) as they shelter the sisters from the pouring rain; and the scene where the grandma is found ardently praying with the one sandal in her hands that was found in the rice fields, believing it was Mei’s. Such scenes emphasize the conclusive theme of spirituality.

Satsuki, being the eldest, is characterized as a mature girl with a motherly role despite her still being in the early years of elementary school. She prepares breakfast and obentô (lunch boxes) for her family, and the way she interacts with Mei depicts the way mothers deal with their children. Satsuki carries Mei on her back when Mei is falling asleep as they wait for their father at the bus stop; and their quarrel indicates their level of maturity. She does however also have a childish side, which is displayed in cases when she and Mei scream when they are scared or nervous as they explore their new “haunted

house;” and also when they dance around the planted tree seeds and experience magic with Totoro and his friends. Mei on the other hand has more solid traits of being the spoiled but sweet and playful little girl. Her stubbornness is eventually what makes her run away, but the combination of her and Satsuki’s character is what allows the film to successfully portray the strong bond of the sisters that only tightens with the climax of the film.

Tonari no Totoro is an excellent fantasy-adventure film that illustrates modern-day rural Japan with a touch of creativity most enjoyable for families and children of all ages. It is a must-see for viewers hoping to get a gist of Japanese culture and traditions in anime form. Children will definitely come to adore Totoro, just as Satsuki and Mei grow to treasure their magical friend and spiritual guardian.

Categories
anime drama, melodrama literary adaptations

The Sea of Decay: Miyazaki and “Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind”

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (Kaze no tani no Naushika) was originally released in 1984, prior to the establishment of Studio Ghibli. It is artfully directed by Miyazaki Hayao who has gained a deserved reputation for other better-known works such as the Academy award-winning Spirited Away or My Neighbor Totoro. The film is based on the manga of the same name, written and illustrated also by Miyazaki. The first English release of the movie was in 1985; the film was cut and re-titled Warriors of the Wind and it was not until 2005 that the uncut English version of Nausicaä was released with Disney’s collaboration. The English dub in the uncut release was performed by now-famous names such as Uma Thurman (Lady Kushana) and Shia LaBeouf (Asbel); however, this review is based on the subbed version of the film, with the original Japanese voice actors: Shimamoto Sumi as Nausicaä, Naya Goro as Lord Yupa, and Sakakibara Yoshiko as Lady Kushana.

Like much of Miyazaki’s work (Kiki’s Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke), Nausicaä follows the story of a young female protagonist. The heroine in question here is, of course, Nausicaä, a princess who resides in a valley near a toxic wasteland known as the Sea of Decay. Hers is a post-apocalyptic world, one that has been devastated—as the titles inform us—by a thousand-year war, but pockets of humanity continue to survive scattered over the planet. Though skilled in combat, Nausicaä is presented as having an enduring compassion for all living things, whether they are human or giant insects. She has a natural gift with animals and she makes frequent visits to the toxic jungle in an attempt to find a way to purify the polluted land. When two nations bring their war to her home, she is left with little choice but to fall into the middle of the conflict before what remains of the world falls under further destruction.

The message of the film is not especially subtle, but it is subtle enough to prevent from distracting the viewer while watching the plot unfold. Although the toxic forest is originally presented as responsible for the uninhabitable state of much of the planet, we quickly learn that it was the war itself that had damaged the ecosystem—the responsibility, therefore, falling squarely on human shoulders. This type of damage to the environment is eerily similar to the wasteland images one might imagine when considering a nuclear fallout; as Miyazaki had written this story in the early to mid-1980s in the midst of the Cold War, it is not surprising that he has chosen to go with this line of thought. The theme of fear as a motivator for violence also runs throughout the film: Nausicaä tames what seems to be a ferocious little creature by telling it not to be afraid and later, Lady Kushana explains that her reason for invading another country was fear of their growing power, and that she was seeking to obtain a powerful weapon before they could. Again, there is a strong parallel between the film and certain events occurring in the world at the time.

Perhaps one of the most impressive aspects of the movie, though, is the carefully rendered world in which the characters reside. There is a tragic beauty to the forest. Full of toxins and strange plants, not to mention large, vicious insects, the forest is tinted a cool translucent blue that suggests a lack of warmth and a kind of deadness—yet the scenery literally glows with life. The humans, by contrast, live in a harsh landscape of dry desert; while the sun shines brightly, the desert is devoid of any signs of environmental life. Through these images, Miyazaki seems to suggest that despite outward appearances, the forest teems with potential while the desert has been stripped of it. Beyond thematic significance, however, the aesthetics of the film are simply a visual pleasure to watch. The opening scene in particular, where Nausicaä explores the forest, resembles a series of soft watercolour paintings in motion. The variety of plants and creatures are wonderfully imaginative, but contain edges of familiarity (dragonfly-like insects, squirrel-like pets), giving audiences a world that is exotic yet at the same time recognizable enough to not be mistaken for another planet altogether. It is Earth as it would be if we are not careful.

The one element that occasionally seems out of place is the music. Although the score is beautifully haunting at times, the use of a synthesizer in several of the action sequences is somewhat jarring where one might have expected more of a traditional orchestral tone. Nevertheless, it is a minor quibble that does not take away from the rest of the film. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is overall a tightly crafted, well-paced story, accompanied by an impressively delicate style of animation and sympathetic characters. While it is arguably not Miyazaki’s strongest work, the film is still well worth viewing.

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