a masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (4 January 2000)

Is Princess Mononoke for children in North America? The answer can be yes or no it depends on your viewpoint. A lot of this film will go over well with children and the intense violence well scare them out of their seats. The girls in Iron town were rescued from the brothels and they do mention that in the film but they don't say what they did other then men bother them. The film runtime is 135 minutes; children are use to films that run for only 80-90 minutes, as the result children will have trouble following the film. Adult anime fans will love this movie unless they just watch anime for animated nudity. When Ashitaka defeats a boar that had turned into a demon he is left with a mark on his arm that will spread across his body and kill him. Ashitaka leaves his village to find the Sprit of the forest in the forest from which no man has returned. Ashitaka makes to it a town called Iron Town where they make Iron. The town is run by Lady Eboshi who wants to tame the forest to gain profit; she is destroying the forest. Lady Eboshi has very good aspects to her she did rescue women from the brothels and gave Lepers a chance to work. A relationship develops between Princess Mononoke who was raised by wolf gods and Ashitaka when Ashitaka rescues Mononoke from Iron Town. The story is struggle between good and evil but simplistic one like in the case of Disney films. Japanese films have more freedom when it comes to creating their stories since they don't have to worry about over sensitive editors. Hayao Miyazaki gives us a story about how humans, animals and nature gods constantly fight over share of emerging order. The ending isn't better then life happy like in Disney its just practical and realistic. This movie is very well directed, the story is enchanting and involving, it grabs the audience attention and never lets it go. The animation is sharp and visually stunning, a true landmark in animation and fantasy adventure, a flawless masterpiece. 10/10 A definite contender for Best Foreign Picture at the Academy Awards.