Spirited Away

The IMDB website says, "if you liked this movie you will probably enjoy....... 'Harry potter and the Philosopher's stone'..." I feel to weep. No offence to JK Rowling, i've read and enjoyed all her books. But Hayao Miyazaki's vision isn't something to be merely enjoyed. It is to be savoured, so delectable that it makes you yearn for more when it has been wholly swallowed.

"Spirited Away" is seamless. I watched it early 2004 right after 'Princess Mononoke' and began expecting just Manga fun. But as the story told itself i found myself hungry, happy, sad, relieved, and running through a whole host of visceral and mental tingling that are too various to list. There is no good or evil, just the duality in different balances that exists in people (ref. real life) A fantasy grounded firmly in human nature. Perfect... just perfect. Only a true master can knit actual personality into fantasy.

And the attention to detail! Chihiro puts on her shoes, taps the toes on the ground to make them snug and THEN takes off. Lin's expression of pained regret when she explains to Sen that the surliness was just a cover. Haku's elation at discovering his true identity. Just thinking about it makes my stomach race and i pinch my owns cheeks hard in supressed excitement.

I realise this is not a well thought out article, but it isn't meant to be. This is simply a gushing fan gushing. At an age when i tend to ask myself "do i feel things deeply enough?" it is liberating when something comes along that moves me beyond belief and restores all faith in emotion.

So... i'm not an android that deserves to be melted... phew...

I wish to surround myself with these things. Even the simple journey of discovering art that makes the knees of my bees weak, makes life so much more bearable and meaningful.