Princess Mononoke

Featuring the voices of Claire Danes, Billy Crudup, Minnie Driver, Gillian Anderson, Billy Bob Thorton and Jada Pinkett Smith.

Directed by Hayao Miyazaki

There are only two movies that broke $150 million at the Japanese box office. One of them was Titanic. I’ll give you one guess as to which was the other. These movies are literally polar opposites of each other. While James Cameron brought us an over-budgeted drawn out movie, chalked full of computer generated cut and paste; Hayao Miyazaki creates a beautiful world of colors and images that capture the eye. But he doesn’t stop there. He then infuses this amazing artwork with a compelling story set in Imperial Japan that can relate and reach any era of moviegoers.

A young prince named Ashitaka (Billy Crudup) is cursed. He is infected by a spirit demon when he kills it defending his small isolated village. Because of this curse, he is sent away from the village to face his impending fate, or hopefully find a cure. As Ashitaka’s journey progresses so does the invading entity throughout his body. Time is not his ally. With every passing minute, the infection consumes him, and begins to take over whenever he is enraged. Along the way, he is caught up in various battles between small villages being ransacked by warriors. But the most important battle that he comes upon is that between Lady Eboshi (Minnie Driver) and Princess Mononoke (Claire Danes) a.k.a. San. Lady Eboshi is the leader of Iron Town; a small, yet formidable village made up of women. San is the young daughter of Moro the Wolf (Gillian Anderson), a forest god who found her when she was a baby, and raised her as her own pup. Lady Eboshi and San are archenemies and have vowed to destroy the other. Ashitaka is caught in the middle because both women have something that he needs. One holds the key to finding a cure to his curse and the other holds the key to his heart.

Miyazaki is better known for his films for children. He is also known as an environmentalist. All but three of his movies are about the environment and influencing us that it needs to be preserved. It is not a coincidence that his main protagonists are women. These women are the vessels in which both civilizations have been brought to life for us. Throughout the film, we can identify with both. We want Iron Town to succeed, because it is a community filled with women who have gained independence through finding respect in themselves. But at the same time, you want San and the forest gods to crush Iron Town, so that the splendor of the environment can thrive and continue to give us source of unending healing. What can been done when you want both sides to persevere?

It is at this moment you realize that you are looking through the eyes of Ashitaka. We each are Ashitaka.

Miyazaki uses Ashitaka to speak to each one of us, guiding us to realize that one side can’t survive without the other. Although the story is set in old Japan, the message resonates regardless of where we are in history or what culture we are from. Miyazaki saves the best for last, displaying the most beautiful animation seen in a long time, while staging the final showdown between Iron Town and the forest gods. If for no other reason, just the animation of the Great God of the Forest alone is worth seeing the entire movie.

This movie is beautiful, bold, fierce, progressive, and down right amazing. Hopefully, James Cameron will take some pointers.

Email: AimeeHFM@aol.com

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