re:mote voices

Title: Spirited Away [Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi]
Cast: Rumi Hîragi, Miyu Irino, Mari Natsuki, Takashi Naitô, Yasuko Sawaguchi
Director: Hayao Miyazaki

after the success of princess mononoke for disney, they have decided to license another studio ghibli film. spirited away is more in the style of some of his earlier films, films like my neighbor totoro or kiki's delivery service rather than the mononoke or nausicaa style.

chihiro and her family are moving house, when they take a wrong turn. this leads them to a number of abandoned buildings, which chihiro's father decides to explore - insisting that it must be an abandoned theme park. however when they find a feast in one of the buildings they start to eat, despite chihiro urging them not to. chihiro refusing to touch the food explores enough to discover that this is actually a place of the spirits. caught here after dark she can not leave, and her parents are transformed into pigs. with the choice of becoming a pig herself or working for the witch in charge of the bathhouse she ends up working for the witch.

from there the film is about the struggle for chihiro not to slip up and become a servant to the witch forever, and also to watch for a chance to save herself and her parents. along the way she befriends some of the workers, and makes an alliance with haku, the witches apprentice. there is barely time to rest in spirited away, chihiro going from one chore to another - each escalating with the involvement of spirits, monsters and demons.

spirited away is alive with detail and character, hayao miyazaki offering us a wealth of customers at the bath house - sludge monsters, frog men, river deities, radish spirits, and no-faced demons. the colours are entirely lucid, so that the film dazzles and enlivens. with that chihiro is central, the behavior and reaction of the young girl are crucial - as well as being where much of the humour stems from, the manic energy and the utter confusion that she exudes.

i'm just noting that the voice in the english language version is supplied by daveigh chase. who seems to be building a curious career for someone that is only 13 years old. other film credits include the american remake of the ring, donnie darko, AI, and the voice of lilo in disney's lilo and stitch. actually, in reference to the discussion yesterday about brother bear, and the regular problems i have with disney films, i should note that lilo and stitch was actually not bad - one of their best in sometime, though obviously still filled with songs and an excess of sentimentality. issues which it can be said do not apply to spirited away.

spirited away is a joy, perhaps the best film yet to come from studio ghibli. a definite must see!