CHIHIRO'S
JOURNEY
-----------------------------------
In our previous issue of ALIVE, I entertained you with reviewing a great anime
called Princess Mononoke. This time I'm back with the -latest- production by
Studios Ghibly : Chihiro's Journey. Please take note that there is a huge
difference between their latest Japanese release and their latest release in
Europe. Indeed while we are constantly blessed with more tasteless Disney
boring movies, most Japanese wonders seldom cross our borders :( Fortunately
Chihiro made it and I'm so happy about that !
-----------------------------------
This Anime should be out on DVD on November 26th, namely 3 days after I type
this and I hope the European DVD won't have that crappy red filter that was
added to the Japanese version when it was released. You may wonder about this
but it's true : all pictures look RED ! Why ? Because some sucker at Buena
Vista Japan decided that it would make the movie look 'old fashioned' and
guess what ? Ghibli Studios agreed to that !? Anyway it seems that our DVD
will be spared (fingers crossed !).
Tho this Anime comes from the same people who made Princess Mononoke, the
story itself has NOTHING to do with the latter as I will explain further.
PLOT
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chihiro is a 10 year old girl who's moving house with her parents. On their
way to their new lodging, they get lost in the forest and end up in front of a
dark tunnel. They step out of the car and decide to explore that tunnel. On
the other side, they find a deserted town and stop in one of its restaurants.
While her parents sit at a counter and start eating (like pigs :), Chihiro
goes on an errand...
As the sun goes down, lanterns suddenly turn on, as if lighted by invisible
hands. Frightened Chihiro runs back to the restaurant but... instead of her
parents she only finds a couple of... pigs ! Then, reality goes upside down as
hundreds of ghosts fade in, here and there, while more shops open their doors
to welcome these strange customers. Chihiro goes freaked out by so many weird
creatures and doesn't know what to do when she meets Haku, seemingly the only
other humang being in this odd world. He leads her to a hideout and tells us
to find a job at the Bath House, only then she will be able to escape with her
parents.
In order to enter the house, she first meets Kamajii, an old man with... six
arms :) Then, Lynn who is a "servant", takes her to the master of the city,
Yubaba, a grandma looking witch with a head 4 times as big as the rest of her
body ! Chihiro is soon forced to change name to 'Sen' and starts working as a
servant (almost slave) for that awful Yubaba.
From that day, life almost seems normal, except for the weird world itself and
the many creatures that inhabit it : talking frogs, ghosts, tiny furry things
who take coal to the huge chimney (I love them !). Chihiro gradually gets used
to that weirdness and even starts forgetting about her previous life... her
real life indeed !
Until the day she accidentally - or better said "out of ignorance" ? - shows a
no-face into the Bath House. From then, that ghost-like creature starts on an
odd rampage, first eating people and using their knowledge, then spawning
nuggets of gold... To that point the story seems to follow no main stream,
you're mostly following Chihiro's everyday life in a strange world.
Later on, we'll discover that evil Yubaba is using Haku to steal a magic seal
from her twin sister, a nice witch as opposed to her :) That's when Chihiro
will put her hands into business, trying to make things smooth. Our adventure
will take her to even weirder places, with her no-face f(r)iend and more funny
creatures. But I'm not going to unveil the rest of that fairy tale :)
THEMES
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unlike Princess Mononoke, Chihiro's Journey (also known as "Spirited Away")
doesn't play like the usual story : as said before, until the twin sisters
rivalry comes in, you're walking into Chihiro's shoes. In other words, you're
a visitor to a totally unknown and eerie place with funny characters. Some
spirits are quite "impressive", like the stinking one (you almost fancy how
stinky he is !), the no-face ghost or the three talking heads that seem to
take care of Yubaba's baby, another out-of-proportion creature !
If I was to find a real theme, I would say that this _awesome_ anime is an
invitation to childhood. You'll come to accept and take things the way they
are in this parallel world, without looking for further explanation... You
become a child again and open your innocent eyes on this Alice-like craziness.
Forget you're a grownup with lost illusions, and dive into this marvelous
dream. You'll feel like you're 10 again, I swear !
TECHNICAL FEATURES
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Surely there must be some computer hiding behind these superb images but
except for a very few camera moves that were clearly computer designed, you'll
not feel the heavy presence of technology as opposed to Disney crap !
Pictures are not only great looking, they also come with vivid colors as if
painted on paper. Smooth colors definitely give a childish atmosphere to this
movie tho it's clearly not for kiddies (some scenes are quite violent for kids
in my humble opinion and refer to death or sorrow). If you have liked Princess
Mononoke then expect the same quality for visuals but also animations and
sound. Music is typically Japanese oriented and sounds brilliant !
I should also add that this anime is 120 minutes long ! It's not everyday you
can enjoy not only such quality and originality but also in length ! As I
write this I haven't been able to buy the DVD yet but from what I heard it's
gonna be quite expensive (24.99 euros) and won't even give you bonuses :( What
a shame !!!
LAST WORDS
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you like great quality animes like Ghost in the Shell, Princess Mononoke or
Blood the Last Vampire, then you CANNOT miss Chihiro's Journey ! This anime is
a pure wonder ! It's gonna plunge you into a wonderful (tho freaky) world and
ambience ! I would again dare compare it to - ALICE IN WONDERLAND - for the
craziness and imagination tho it looks a hundred times better ! Characters are
really interesting, you quickly get interested in everyone's story and that's
another thing about this movie (as mentioned earlier), for long there seems to
be no main thread, just parts of Chihiro's life mixed with weird encounters. I
really like the old man, Kamajii and its small furry balls that carry coal
to the fire. They strongly remind me of the 'sylvains' (as called in French)
from Princess Mononoke.
To sum it up, Chihiro's Journey is a wonderful modern fairy tale. It takes you
off ground reality and invites you on a psychedelic trip to a strange world.
It looks gorgeous, sounds enchanting, and you won't realize you have been
watching it for two hours before reaching the end. Then you'll need some time
to get back to our old real world...
------------------------------------------------------------------------- STS
|
