Miyazaki's Masterpiece

Rating: 7/10 (10 November 2015)

Princess Mononoke is, by far, the best animated movie I have ever seen. From the very beginning, it captures the viewer's imagination and continues to captivate even as its length exceeds the two-hour mark. The film is well-known for its environmental message and stunning animation, but it deserves equal praise for its well-drawn characters, dynamic action sequences, and compelling narrative.
Princess Mononoke tells the story of Ashitaka, a courageous warrior who, soon into the movie, battles a cursed boar god on a rampage in his homeland. Ashitaka is able to slay the beast, but just before he does, it latches onto him and afflicts him with its curse.
In an effort to lift the curse, which he soon finds is deadly, Ashitaka heads west. Along the way, he discovers several mystical creatures in the forest, one of them being the beautiful San, a young girl who lives among wolves and despises humans, yet who must somehow reconcile her antagonism to mankind with her own humanity and her fondness for Ashitaka. After emerging from the woods, Ashitaka becomes acquainted with the workers at a mining colony whose weapons, he learns, have inflicted this curse upon him.
Finding himself in a conflict between the workers of the mining colony, who wish to advance their civilization at the expense of the natural world, and the forest gods, who have declared all humans as the enemy, Ashitaka must choose between fighting alongside the forest gods as well as San, whom he cares deeply for, and defending his own kind.
In a riveting war between man and beast, the creatures of the forest are left with no choice but to retaliate against the humans' progressively hostile and encroaching way of life. An epic battle ensues, one that, while rooted in the fantasy genre, is surprisingly relevant to the world at large. In its depiction of the disconnect between civilization and nature, the film possesses true allegorical significance as, even amid great chaos and suffering, it contains rare moments of healing and peace.