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Released : 12 July 1997 (Japanese Theatrical
Release) "...this is a movie to be seen on the big-screen, its what Miyazaki makes his work for, ... Mononoke is Miyazaki at his best, a master story-teller, an incredibly talented artist, a fantastic director, and above all a man of intense humanity." Debra Szapiro All nations are forged in legends as power shifts balance through the ages. Each new era sees man-kind seeking to better itself by dominating the world around us, bending the balance of nature to our will. Nature has always fought back, as disasters plague the planet, but as civilization grows uncontrollably, we have forgotten of times of old when nature was still strong enough to maintain its own voice, to warn us of the dangers we will face if we continue to seek our own distruction. Miyazaki’s darkest and most daring film to date turns its back on dreams of free-hearted fantasy and youthful innocence in his playgrounds of picturest European society and has looked instead to Japan’s misty, half-forgotten past. Miyazaki looks to bring life to the legends of a turbulent and troubled past that will forge a world in which mankind and nature can live together in harmony. It is a theme Miyazaki has always felt strongly for, fearing a dark future ahead for all the children of the world, if action cannot be taken soon. He has not dealt strongly with such a forceful topic since his first immortal epic of Nausicaa where mankind sought to burn the forests down while Nausicaa found another way of existing in balance with nature. Critics have claimed it is a topic that has been visited to many times but Miyazaki has always shown through his art first and foremost his love of children and his determination to build a better future for them with his tales of free-hearted fantasy, love, growing-up and warnings of what they must do to help make that bright hopeful future possible else a ‘lived happily ever after’ will never proceed. The difficulties of life are hard and many and the results of his works are already shinning through world-wide as people take after the strong characters of Miyazaki’s worlds, the happy, the sad and Princess Mononoke. The showpiece of the ‘Sydney 2000 Olympic Arts Japanime Film Festival’ and the Australian Premiere of Studio Ghibli’s most expensive and most successful film to date, Princess Mononoke saw tickets sold-out within the opening hours of ticket sales. However despite the amazing response to the movie, on the night of the event there was no Australian media present besides ‘Review’ and a small crowd of Japanese TV media. The sold-out sessions of crowds stretched out along the Circular Quays as the hum of intrawled and deeply anticipating fans filled the air. All the people with which ‘Review’ spoke had all been touched by Miyazaki and waited in tremendous anticipation of what they have waited for three years since its eight month stay in cinemas across Japan. While the movie broke all previous box-office records in Japan, grossing $150 US, Western society has once again been less accommodating in welcoming Miyazaki’s masterpiece due to its length, themes and lack of trade-mark, Walt Disney songs. It did thankfully acquire a board of talented actors for the voices of the characters that did create a stronger environment that the standard japanime dubbing to English. Sporting names such as Claire Danes, Minnie Driver, Billy Bob Thorton and Gillian Anderson, commercial appeal was immediately injected into the picture. Under the instructions of Neil Gaiman, a distinctive American artist, the dialogue and voice coaching was seen completed to the upmost precision and quality to preserve the impact of the movie’s original script. Gaiman had to fight vigorously to preserve much of the original dialect as executives wished to alter the script to accommodate a lazier approach of understanding for American audiences, but as Gaiman strongly stated in an interview, " The audience isn't stupid. If they were, they wouldn't get any of the rest of the film either". Unfortunately due to only limited cinematic release and poor advertising, Mononoke found very minimum success in the states compared to the movie’s homeland. Of coarse, Australia always aquires such material last and appears it will follow the same example as America, not giving the due credit this movie deserves with a proper release and advertising. Despite this draw-back however, Sydney’s premier gave Mononoke the chance to dazzle fans at its home on the big-screen, enabling the pure beauty, tranquillity and power entrance you for 2 hours and 13 minutes of true cinematic glory. While Miyazaki has always had themes and expressed his concern through Mononoke, he never let it impede the audiences enjoyment of the story. Set in the Muromachi period that lasted from 1336 to 1573, in a culture that is senominous with samari domination in the upper classes of nobility. Miyazaki has instead looked to the simple, hard-working people of the era, the people who truly shaped the powerful nation of today, in a time when mankind were beginning to feel they could control nature, rather than worship it. Miyazaki has once again created characters of incredible presence, life, and diversity that slip harmoniously into his universe. Ashitaka, the prince of a dying and proud tribe seeks redemption from a curse that plagues his body. Brave, strong and wise he soon reaches his journey’s end to find himself in the middle of a war between the growing borders of humanity and the age old gods of the forest. Lady Eboshi is the fierce and fearless leader of iron town, a salvage from a twisted humanity itself and an increasing danger to the fragile forest and its inhabitance. Eboshi has created a haven for the disadvantaged and misused people of the Japanese society and given them a goal and a means of life, to salvage the land for iron and enjoy the rewards of being apart of a happy community. She is so kind to the weak yet merciless to her enemies, driven with her goal and will never waiver from her course seeking the best for the future of mankind, or is she trying to desperately escape some past hell? Gaining unparalleled respect from her kinsman, she fashions weapons of war, the first of guns to be used in Japanese history. But her enemy, San, the child of the forest and the daughter of the wolf god is as passionate in her desperate desire to destroy all of humanity and reclaim the earth as the realm of the forest and the land of the god of life and death. Sacrificed to the wolf god’s feet as a babe, she was raised as a wolf and is stuck between the worlds of man and beast, she is Princess Mononoke. Ashitaka finds the hatred in both their hearts and seeks to bring peace and balance to the two fiery spirits of the raging heroines of the story. But also feudal debates rage within the beast clans and a distinctive religious order seeks to claim the head of the god of life and death itself for the emperor who seeks to steal the secrets of the gods immortality. But, as in life, now war has a happy ending, and when warring against gods with instruments of death, chaos, pain, sadness and loss can be the only true result as Miyazaki has always tried to express in his works. Overall this is another Miyazaki triumph, it is an amazing film and is one that cannot be missed, especially on the big screen. An epic tale of romance, adventure, courage and ecological concern for our future, Princess Mononoke will entrance all ages alike with its beauty for generations to come.
LINKS Nausicaa.net - The Best Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli resource on
the net
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[REVIEWED BY ISAAC HAYWARD]
