Directed by Hayao Miyazaki. DP was Atsushi Oki.
This movie was an experience for me. I had this uneasy feeling the whole time, like I was walking through a stranger's house while blindfolded. It made me think about how our expectations of story telling keep us safe in films.
'Spirited Away' cleaves to no such tropes. It's the one film I've recently watched where I had no idea what to expect next.
The animators used a child like perspective of size in most characters. Below our lead, Chihiro, is standing next to a giant radish person. The radish is comically large compared to her
Below we have the witch. You can see how exaggerated her features are: a giant hairdo, the large nose, and ostentatious jewelry. I felt
gobsmacked by this scene as the tone was much darker than I expected. Since we are encouraged to take Chihiro's point of view, we're dragged deeper into the story emotionally.
Chihiro is a mere wisp in the frame. It's a show of power and dominance. I believe this is where the witch takes her name.
I never flew as a kid, so when we traveled anywhere my family always drove. When I'd see houses out in the middle of nowhere-ville Ohio or Kentucky I'd wonder who lived there. How they kept busy with nothing around them? The shot below, when our heroes travel by train, brought those memories back to me. If the house is in the middle of the sea, how do they go anywhere? It's dreamlike logic which works so well in 'Spirited Away', adding to the world.
Below we come across the sister of the witch. If you're comparing this movie to the 'Wizard of Oz' she would be the good witch. Again we have this childish perspective. The cookies and cakes are gigantic compared to Chihiro, she's almost swallowed up by everything around her.
I just found the shot of the nose a clever way to represent the good witch. Plus it was funny.
It's no secret this is one of the great animated films. Personally, it became more and more enjoyable the stranger it got. Also, it doesn't pull punches, there are a few dark moments that could get to smaller children. This is the kind of film which gets you obsessed with a genre. In the '00's I saw 'Oldboy' and subsequently watched every Asian extreme film I could find. I've seen...things...horrible things thanks to Miike.
Highly recommended.
