By Nrl Liya
There is a faint image of my twelve-year-old self, perched before the television and mesmerized by the magic work of Hayao Miyazaki, the director of Studio Ghibli, and his wondrous masterpiece, Spirited Away. It was a breathtaking animated piece that filled my chest with warmth.
Released in 2001, Spirited Away is an animated film directed by Hayao Miyazaki. The film achieved an immersive animation that was adored by countless audiences and loyal fans of the Studio Ghibli production. Miyazaki’s unparalleled ability in capturing realism and fantasy within a two-hour movie is a testament to his wondrous skills. Thus, it is no wonder that Spirited Away earned the title of the first and only Japanese film to have won an Oscar Best Animated Feature.
So what is Spirited Away about and how does this movie capture not only the heart of a child but the hearts of others as well?
The movie revolves around a young girl named Chihiro who is on her way to her new house in the countryside with her parents, Takashi Naito and Yasuko Sawaguchi. In a twist of fate, Chihiro’s father inadvertently took the wrong turn and stumbled upon an abandoned amusement park. Despite Chihiro’s insistence on leaving the place, her parents continue their journey in exploring the abandoned locale, setting off a chain of events beyond their wildest imagination.
Unbeknownst to them, the place was the spirit realm during nighttime, and Chihiro’s parents were cursed under a spell of becoming a pig after eating the spirit world food. Soon, Chihiro received help from a young man named Haku, who advised her that the only way for her to rescue her parents was to stay within the spirit realm. Left with no other choice, she secured a job under Lin’s supervision and remained in the spirit realm until she could find a way to free her parents.
The animation film is two hours and five minutes full of beautiful animation, life lessons, and fascinating background music. Even if the movie was two hours long, something not frequently done for a film targeted at children since there’s only so much that could distract a child for so long, this Studio Ghibli production found the magic to captivate their audience's heart. The movie was able to achieve something that is so rarely seen in most movies, a scene where nothing happens.
When watching the film, rather than being bombarded with numerous new information while watching a movie as an audience full of plot complexities, Hayao Miyazaki took a different approach. In the movie, you will catch certain moments in the film where Chihiro simply exists.
It creates a sort of window of introspection not only for the young protagonist but also us, the audience. These moments create an opportunity to immerse ourselves in the new world that the protagonist has stumbled into, reflecting the sequences of events that had happened overnight without the burden of overthinking. It is a chance to breathe freely.
Another thing to be noticed in this movie is how the background music was used. I often find myself going to YouTube and listening to their background music just for the sake of it. To appreciate the beauty that never changed.
The music artfully portrayed Chihiro’s feelings, from finding out that she has entered the spirit world to having a serene moment in capturing the view. It serves as a conduit through which we experience her deepest sentiments. It allows us to feel what she feels. The music could even tug the heartstrings of audiences by just playing five simple piano keys.
The reason the movie was able to capture my heart is how Chihiro’s character was portrayed. The movie starts with a 10-year-old girl who seems innocent and ordinary. There’s nothing noteworthy of her other than being a brat who clings to her parents and is sulky at the beginning of the movie. This changes of course, after she leaves on her own and needs to survive by working in the spirit world. She grows with the support of Haku, Lin, and Kamaji. Chihiro becomes braver and more confident in her actions as she goes to lengths to save her friends and parents.
I would end my captivation of Hayao Miyazaki’s incredible work by noting that the movie creates a sort of nostalgic feeling in my heart throughout the two hours. It brings out memories and feelings that make me wonder the whole day. The mixture of everything inside the movie clenched my heart with something indescribable and yet, every moment in my life, the word beauty will be in it. The magic of Hayao Miyazaki's directing shall always be praised by me.
The movie left me with an ambivalent feeling that I could not decipher, thus bringing me to watching it again and again.
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