Ghibli vol. 2

Another portion of Ghibli. I also decided that I would watch all the productions of the studio, I have a few left! The theme of today's choice is an initiate, grow up and search for your "I". If you haven’t watched any of these films, quickly get back on the backlog!

“Kiki’s Delivery Service” (Hayao Miyazaki, 1989).

An unpretentious and charming story of the initiation of the little witch. 13-year-old Kiki leaves the house to - in accordance with tradition - settle in a city that doesn’t yet have a full-time witch. However, since the girl hasn’t discovered any special talents in her and "it is not easy to be a witch in the modern world", Kiki decides to become ... a deliverer. In the company of a talking cat Jiji moves to conquer the world.

The Kiki story has all the features of the rite of passage description. The teenager becomes a woman slowly and is ready to become a full-fledged witch. However, in order for this to happen, she must break with her old life and find herself, redefine her own identity. Of course, it will not be easy - a girl needs to understand where her power comes from, which describes her as a witch. Wanting to be accepted "as it is", she must first understand what it means.

Under the guise of a fairy tale, there is a wealth of meanings about self-acceptance. In the typical Ghibli studio, the relationship between human and nature is emphasized here - although it isn’t clearly present in the life of the city's residents, for Kiki it will become a mainstay, a space for reflection and a source of inspiration. It is in the old forest that the little witch, in the company of her older friend mentor Ursula, will understand that she has the power to control her abilities. Eventually, she will be able to reconcile magic with her waking, yet innocent, femininity (friendship with Tombo) and she will understand that the price for this must be the loss of childhood dependencies (Jiji giving way to her animal nature).

“Kiki's Delivery Service” is one of those films that you can watch at any moment of your life - for children it will be simply a story of a nice little witch, the elders will find a metaphor for puberty. It's worth taking the time.

„Spirited Away” (Hayao Miyazaki,2001)

Heavy weight among animations. Probably one of the best animated films of all time and no one will convince me that it is different. “ Spirited Away” has no flaws - you can only accuse this production of the fact that it ends definitely too quickly and has no further thrust.

First of all, graphics - the picture is stunned by the richness of colors, characters and locations. Everything has been fine-tuned here in the smallest details: the interiors in the Yubaby bath are filled with precisely mapped objects, and the open airs enchant with their scenic beauty. The characters, on the other hand, have complex characters and escape the unequivocal evaluation: even a dangerous witch has a good side of personality and in the end it isn’t as bad as it seemed at first glance.

Here returns the motif of searching for your "I", maturing and fighting and regaining your identity. The little Chihiro loses her name and undertakes to work beyond her strength to save herself and her parents which were turned into pigs. This decision will change her - a capricious, slightly spoiled girl - into someone who fully understands the meaning and value of sacrifice in the name of love and friendship. She will not only save herself: by learning, she will become a teacher herself, and her loyalty will also releases from under the spell the dragon.

“ Spirited Away” is one of the very "Japanese" stories. Satiated with myths, beliefs and symbols related explicitly to the culture of the Land of the Rising Sun, the fairy tale has, in addition to the universal dimension, an extremely rich symbolism. It is no coincidence that the place of service Sen (formerly Chihiro) becomes a bathhouse, and its most difficult task is to purify the god of stink (which is actually someone completely different). The theme of ritual purity and ablution in general, used in Western culture in fact only in the context of Jesus washing feet (exaggerating, of course, but hard to overlook certain dependencies), is still very important for Eastern cultures and carries important content. It is also an element of the rite of passage, in which a girl takes part, exposed to numerous attempts.

You need to be aware of the fact that the child's first and foremost dread is that she will lose herself and forget about parents: then she would become a prisoner of Yubaba forever. She doesn’t remember her name, which was stolen by her witch, and one can expect that she will face a fate similar to the one who met Haku - a faithful servant of a witch, deprived of free will. It isn’t a struggle for survival, but for the preservation of identity, for "being yourself". But it has a double meaning: Sen will regain its name, but it will not be the same girl that she was before. He returns to his world richer with experience, more mature, more prone to appreciate what he has. She realizes this because of her adventure - the effort she put in to regain her old life allowed her to understand how much she meant to her and how much she could sacrifice in the name of his defense.

“Spirited Away” was the first movie from Ghibli, which I got to know. I have watched the animation several times and each time made the same impression on me. And that's the obligatory position - if you haven’t seen it yet, you have to it’s beyond fantastic.

“Howl’s Moving Castle” (Hayao Miyazaki, 2004).

My number 2, another gem in Miyazaki's achievements. Did he ever make a weak film at all? The Castle, made with a flourish, sparkles with humor, which hides deep reflections on growing up and passing away. This is another initiation tale. A young hatter, Sophie, is a typical gray mouse: she doesn’t attract attention either by her appearance, her outfit or her personality. She is quiet, submissive, obediently performs commands. Her life diametrically changes when she get clash with the North Witch: Sophie said a few words too much, for which the nasty witch will turn her into an old woman. Wanting to take away the spell, the girl / old woman embarks on a journey.

What surprises us in “Howl’s Moving Castle” is the hero's unanimous agreement for the fate that has become hers. Sophie doesn’t break her hands, doesn’t hysteric, doesn’t expect anyone to solve her problems for her. She even humorously states that the new character is more suited to her drowsy personality. The journey itself is just an apparently expedition with a clearly defined purpose. The girl goes rather "forward", knowing that she can no longer stay in the store. It seems to be reconciled with fate (as far as possible) and quickly begins not only to take a distance from the spell, it also discovers certain advantages flowing from the position in which it found itself. As an old lady, she falls out with everything - Sophie ceases to be a clergy hatter and gets bold, expressing her opinions loudly, which leads to many comic situations. Her relationship with the Haur wizard, whom she meets in the wilderness, is characterized by a rich dynamics of mutual tensions: a story with dyed hair can lead the viewer to tears. Laugh, of course.

Hauru, an egocentric dandy and a breaker of a woman's heart, changes under the influence of Sophie. It is for her when he to decide to fight, he will learn for her what devotion and dedication is. When the girl regains his heart, he will become a sensitive young man with a well-dressed poser, who will be joined by an "old lady" with a sincere bond. In the end, what you could expect from Miyazaki will come to light: the charm, just like the recovery of Kiki's witch depends only on the protagonist and her actions. The spell will pop when Sophie is ready for it, when she discovers a strength that defines her as an adult, an independent woman who can fight for what is precious to her. Stay with yourself, but become a better self - says Hayao, including the meaning of maturation.

“Howl's Moving Castle” is a wonderful, fairy tale, during which you can cry with laughter ("I'm not beautiful, my life has lost its meaning!") And shrug. It would be trivial to say that Miyazaki teaches, entertaining, but it is an irrefutable fact: the stories of the Ghibli studio teach how to live. In this case - how to grow up.

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