The Great Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (26 March 2014)

If I were to watch one movie as I lay dieing, it would definitely be Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away (2001). I would like to die right at the moment when Chihiro and No Face are the last ones on the train. But in all honesty, any moment in this movie would be a great final sight. It has some of the most impressive animation in the history of the art, but it also tells one of the greatest stories in movie history. It's a basic coming of age story, but with such imagination, emotion and well made characters that it is one that will be watched and enjoyed a hundred years from now, that I have no doubt.
The story follows a ten year old girl named Chihiro and her quest to save her parents from a bathhouse running witch named Yubaba. If that does not hook you, I don't know what will. Add some beautifully drawn river spirits and bizarre creatures that would shock even Lewis Carroll, and you've got the makings of a great movie.
Besides the fantastic story and characters, the thing that makes this a masterpiece is that it's a tremendous labor of love that is. Not that it was difficult to make, considering the fact that Miyazaki is animated gold, but that there are hundreds of unnecessary little details that cement the movies beauty. The way water moves and reflects, for example. It is so realistic that we became totally engrossed in the story. Or look in the windows of the bathhouse. You will find whole stories that have no connection to the central one, but they give such a feeling of busyness and movement that I couldn't imagine the movie without them. Most backgrounds in animated movies are very still, they can't distract from the story. But the ones in Spirited Away demand your attention. It's a good thing that the story is so compelling.
The story is a basic coming of age type deal. But most of us take a long time to make the progress that that Chihiro makes of the course of the movie. Sometimes we wish there was an event like this one that would inspire us to take action. But usually a single event that causes maturity is a tragic or traumatic one, where as Chihiro's is one of spectacular adventure. Scary, yes, but she faces it with great bravery so that the trauma questions that usually pop up in the back of my head in movies like this never come up in Spirited Away.
I mentioned fantastic creatures, and this movie delivers them, I think more than any other movie. They are powerful creatures of few words, who let their very existence be their power. My personal favorite is the Radish Spirit. He looks vaguely like Meat Loaf in Fight Club (1999) and does little except for ride in an elevator with Chihiro and do a happy dance. But the tantalizing possibility of the existence of such an incredible creature has elevated him to one of my favorite movie characters. The most affecting is Stink God. I remember a tremendous feeling of sadness hit me when he slimed in the rain towards the bath house. He was so alone and hated, you can't help but feel sympathy for him (plus, he inspires a great reaction from Chihiro). But the most memorable is No Face. He is one one of the great misunderstood monsters of the screen. When Chihiro shows him a little kindness, he tries to repay her in any way he can, which involves hurting some people on accident. With minimal noise, he inspires great sympathy and awe. He is also a wonder of animation, disappearing from scene to scene, rapidly changing in size and seemingly texture.
As the story draws to it's conclusion, it's an interesting to note that we want Chihiro to return to the human world. This is a snag that many children's movies hit. Why would you want human friends if you have Totoro or why would you go back to Kansas if you have Oz? But there is enough peril in the bathhouse and Chihiro is human enough that she needs to return to the human world; she has no place with the spirits.
Consider the title. Nobody ever says that in the movie, in fact Chihiro takes her entry into this fantastic world very rationally. But the title is directed to us, the audience. We are spirited away to a place beyond the imagining of mere mortals. Miyazaki lets us in on his mad dreams, and we couldn't care less.