Wednesday, April 16
Most of the great Japanese anime director's catalogue is now available in the US on DVD. That includes such classics as Laputa (which Disney renamed "Castle in the Sky" because "la puta" is, I believe, Spanish for "pussy"), Kiki's Delivery Service, Spirited Away (the 2003 Academy Award), along with Grave of the Fireflies, which was made at Miyazaki's studio, Studio Ghibli, and directed by Miyazaki's colleague, Isao Takahata. Fireflies has been called one of the great war movies of all time, and that's pretty accurate (though it IS perhaps the most depressing thing I've ever seen). Miyazaki's first classic, Nausicaa, isn't out yet, though I'm sure it will be out soon. Actually, Spirited Away is still in theaters in the US, so you might want to check it out on the big screen.
I've owned copies of all these movies for a few years (via Hong Kong bootlegs). I even own Miyazaki movies that no one has heard of outside Japan (and Comicon), like Whisper of the Heart, Porco Rosso, and this one weird film about raccoons and their testicles (I think it's called Heisei Tanuki's War). All of Miyazaki's work is of the highest calibre, and, unlike just about all other anime, Miyazaki places primary importance on storytelling, character development, and everyday life (even if, as in the case of Laputa, that everyday life involves flying cities). His stories are wonderfully human, in the sense that each character is well-rounded, complex, with ideals and fears and aspirations and clumsiness and everything else that makes human beings human. He is truly one of the great filmmakers of all time, and anyone who doubts this should pick up a copy of My Neighbor Totoro and watch the quiet scenes early in the film as the two girls and their father move into their new house next to a giant forest. There is more pleasure, more beauty, and more joy in those few scenes than in just about every other film you'll ever see. I'm serious here--this is brilliance, and the fact that it is animated should not in any way detract from this achievement, for the same filmmaking rules apply in animation that apply in traditional filmmaking.
So anyone who hasn't seen any of these films is in for a treat. Don't rent these things--BUY them. If you do this, your friends and family will thank you for the rest of your life.
I've owned copies of all these movies for a few years (via Hong Kong bootlegs). I even own Miyazaki movies that no one has heard of outside Japan (and Comicon), like Whisper of the Heart, Porco Rosso, and this one weird film about raccoons and their testicles (I think it's called Heisei Tanuki's War). All of Miyazaki's work is of the highest calibre, and, unlike just about all other anime, Miyazaki places primary importance on storytelling, character development, and everyday life (even if, as in the case of Laputa, that everyday life involves flying cities). His stories are wonderfully human, in the sense that each character is well-rounded, complex, with ideals and fears and aspirations and clumsiness and everything else that makes human beings human. He is truly one of the great filmmakers of all time, and anyone who doubts this should pick up a copy of My Neighbor Totoro and watch the quiet scenes early in the film as the two girls and their father move into their new house next to a giant forest. There is more pleasure, more beauty, and more joy in those few scenes than in just about every other film you'll ever see. I'm serious here--this is brilliance, and the fact that it is animated should not in any way detract from this achievement, for the same filmmaking rules apply in animation that apply in traditional filmmaking.
So anyone who hasn't seen any of these films is in for a treat. Don't rent these things--BUY them. If you do this, your friends and family will thank you for the rest of your life.
