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Spirited Away
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
Starring: Rumi Hiiragi, Miyu Irino, Mari Natsuki, Takeshi Naitou
Running Time: 2:02
Country: Japan
Year: 2002
Web: Official Site
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How many of us can remember the nightmares of our childhood, the ones that woke us up and took way too long to fade so that we could know they were just our dreams, they were not reality. Scary stuff for a child, whether it appears in nightmare form or in reality, often has to do with loss of security: mom and/or dad are gone, the world even looks different and is suddenly a strange place, and now weird things in this world are about to attack us! Growing up is such a challenge, because there always comes a time in reality when we realize: mom and dad are not the people we thought they were, the world really is a strange place, and there are plenty of unrecognizable things ready to attack us.
In the new Japanese animated feature Spirited Away, Chihiro is a ten year old girl whose parents have decided to move to a new town, causing Chihiro to feel sad and a little frightened about leaving her friends, her school, all that is familiar and known. When the film begins, the parents are driving to their new home with Chihiro moping and pouting in the back seat. The family looks and acts very "western;" they seem about as untraditional-Japanese as they could be, down to the make of their sedan: an Audi. Dad takes a wrong turn though, and they end up lost, at a dead end near an overgrown tunnel. Chihiro doesn't want to explore it (she is Miss Negative), but her parents go into the tunnel, and she reluctantly follows. They find themselves in a ghost town of what the father guesses to be a failed theme park, but there's apparently at least one food stand still open, though no shopkeeper can be seen. Chihiro's hungry parents decide to help themselves to the spread of steaming hot entrees; Dad figures he can just leave his credit card number for the owner, if no one shows up. Her parents sit down on the stools at the lunch counter and begin to eat, but Chihiro isn't going to have anything to do with any of this. She wanders around the place for a while, and when she returns, her parents are still eating away. Only, when they spin around on their stools, Chihiro sees that they've turned into huge pigs. The reaction Chihiro has in comprehending what has happened is exquisitely developed: is she dreaming? Will someone please stop this? What is going on here? Chihiru cries and screams, unable to make sense of the world. This is the beginning of her nightmare reality. The task ahead is daunting: survival of her self, not to mention the rescue of her pig-parents. Chihiru is not in Kansas anymore, and neither are we.
Chihiro luckily meets Haku, a young man who also came from our world at one time, but he's forgotten his original name and so is stuck in this place full of spirits, monstrous non-humans and bizarre creatures. In order to survive, Haku advises Chihiru to get a job working for the spider-like boss of the bathhouse, but he cautions her to remember her own name though they give her a new one. She becomes known now as Sen, and as Sen she eventually learns to fight for what is right and fair, helping those around her with honesty and bravery. She transcends the pouty ten year old girl she is in the beginning of the film. She has to contend with far more strangeness than moving to a new school: she makes a bath for a filthy, drippingly ugly and disgusting "Stink God" (can you imagine a spoiled ten year old coming within a foot of even a mildly odorous old sock-if it were not her own sock?); she takes care of a giant greedy and obnoxious baby, the son of the witch lady Yubaba who's in charge of the bathhouse, and sees to his transformation (perhaps Sen knows babies like this one, or at least she can identify with his demandingness). Sen/Chihiru saves the life of Haku and others as well, as she finds strength and courage that she didn't know existed inside her.
One of the most remarkable features of this film is the amazing preponderance of strange, supernatural, bizarre beings as the characters that Chihiru/Sen has to deal with. Some of these creatures appear to be relics of Japanese mythology, but some (like the giant baby) are not culture-bound. In fact, whether or not there's a Japanese-culture origin, all of these characters are deeply affecting. A list from memory includes the floating/mask-faced ghost who first befriends Sen and then challenges her with his offer to the bathhouse personnel of gold in exchange for the unlimited consumption of food; the twin Yabubas (one is a good granny and and the other an evil witch); the river-god-dragon into which Haku has been enchanted; the rolling heads that the greedy baby has turned into�there are simply too many to recall and describe here. The theme of transformation and twinning is repeatedly used, and I think there's a collective unconscious-Jungian sort of connection here that simply grabs us, no matter what culture we're from. We'd prefer seeing Good and Evil as completely separate entities. It's an easier to handle concept, thinking of it as two opposing forces. But truth is, they are mixed together inside all of us. Chihiru experiences the nightmare of becoming Sen. But she manages to hold on to Chihiru throughout. As in Miyazake's Princess Mononoke, the girl saves the boy at the end of the movie, but they neither combine as a single pair/unit; nor do they deny their separateness. They affirm their importance to each other, and they move on.
Spirited Away is a spectacular film, the latest and possibly final (the director announced his retirement) work of anime from director Hayao Miyazake. Disney is in the process of dubbing this film for upcoming U.S. release in September. Released last July in Japan, it holds the record for all-time highest grossing film there. Not strictly a children's film (even less so was Miyazake's darker Princess Mononoke), Spirited Away offers an exciting adventure, visually stunning, narratively compelling, and mythically satisfying. Spirited Away is a love story, but with Miyazake's unique and personal romantic vision. The story was supposedly inspired by the director's encounter with the daughter of a friend. Let us hope Miyazake rests up rather than retires completely, so that he may be inspired by more human acquaintances and delight millions more with his wondrous imagination.
Carol Saturansky
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Spirited Away review
