Porco Rosso

I always thought that Miyazaki was obsessed with flight since it appeared in so many of his films, but now I KNOW that he is obsessed with it. To me, this film is merely Miyazaki exercising his freedom as a director to explore his childhood fantasies. The story is not very interesting, major plot points are never completed, and social and political issues were not stressed. With so much attention from the public it seems selfish to make a film lacking in a lesson. All I took away from it was that its not easy being outside of society. Thats really not much of a reason to watch this film when so many others do the same thing and much more. Although not necessarily a bad film Porco Rosso, to me, is just a standard Miyazaki film. It is not as special as some of his other films.

Despite the narrative flaws I noticed Porco Rosso had some great moments of stunning animation. The sequence where they are escaping from the piccolo workshop the plane sprays a trail of water that is really beautiful! Also, when the girl is swimming the water around her as she moves looks very natural and detailed.

I am curious to see what people say about this in class. I had an overall negative reaction to the film in comparison to his others, but this is apparently Nagisa's favorite. Seems like the discussion could get heated!

Totoro

It's been a while since the screening last week, but I really have had to let the film sit in my brain for a while so that i could figure out how I really felt about it.

Generally I liked it but not the parts that I assume most people like. Satsuki and Mei were ok characters but they started to annoy me really fast. They scream too much. I don't know if it is common for Japanese children to scream out everything their parents say. I hope it is not. Besides that I thought they were cute, just like normal kids. Their desire to help their mother get well was endearing but Mei was far to young to be an interesting character. Satsuki was slightly more complex but not by much. Totoro was really cool and I finally understand why so many people love him. He reminded me of a big, old, friendly dog. He often moves slowly and is cuddly but if he needs to exert the energy to be ferocious, he can. I also found his continued use of the umbrella to be really interesting. He treasured it not only because the girls gave it to him but because it was a musical instrument and a tool. He appreciated all of the small details of something we normally take for granted. I think this has to do with his connection to nature. When you go out into the forest and let your mind clear out the business of our modern everyday life you begin to notice more; like the rustle of things in the wind and the flow of the waves in a lake.

This brings me to what I liked most about the film: the scenery. So many films nowadays are a constant assault of excitement and action. I rarely get to see a calm environment with no music playing and just sounds of nature. I really enjoyed watching peace.

Its not the most academic analysis of the film but it is a reaction and that is important.

Castle in the Sky

I have always loved Castle in the Sky. If I remember correctly, it was the first Miyazaki film I ever saw and it was no doubt the first Ghibli soundtrack i had memorized. Now that we have watched three of Miyazaki's films I am definitely noticing a trend. Most noticeable was the common motif of flight and the technology of the films. I noticed a lot of very similar shots of clouds. I wish I knew how to insert clips into my posts so I could show the similar ones. Also, I so far really like the two title sequences I have seen. The artwork is very different from the animation of the rest of the film but it goes very well with both of them. One thing I have always thought was very interesting was the cut where the kitchen is a mess and then a few scenes later it is spotless. Of course it is easier to draw a clean environment but this is actually a common scene in Miyazaki films that I have already noticed. The same thing occurs in Spirited Away when Chihiro gets assigned to clean the big tub and in Howl's Moving Castle when Sophie cleans the front room in a short montage. Cleaning house has a power to relieve tension and I think it is a very smart thing for Miyazaki to use at these particular moments in his films so they do not become an overload of excitement. I also think its interesting that this same scene happens in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs; there is no doubt that Miyazaki was inspired by this scene.

Nausicaa Week 2

I expected to have some revelation this week when watching the film again; I did not. Watching it a second time was very similar to the first time. I only noticed a few details that I did not understand before and I also figured out which scenes I like the best.

One of the small details I noticed was that the three princesses all have the same style of earrings. It doesn't really provide me with any revelation except that the three women are connected in more than just being princesses. Perhaps they were actually sisters. I would probably have to read the manga to really find out about that.

Another thing i thought was really interesting was the finite border between desert and toxic jungle. They always say the forest is spreading but at the same time this border makes me thing that it is a very delicate ecosystem and that is one reason for the bugs to protect it like they do.

One of my favorite images of the film is definitely the tapestry sequence during the opening credits. I really enjoy the contrast between the human depiction of the giant warrior and the giant warrior itself. The humans have illustrated it really extravagantly when they are actually aesthetically simple. The following shots of the giant warriors walking amongst the burning ruins are my favorite. Their walk is very unified and something about it hypnotizes me. Its ominous beauty is very striking and rather than evoking fear, it glorifies them in their efforts. Also, the same inaccurate depiction comes into play with the man dressed in blue in the tapestry in the Valley of the Wind. The man on the tapestry is supposed to be Nausicaa but the image has been interpreted inaccurately by man. I think this is also a comment on the heroines Miyazaki so often presents; we expect there to be a hero but we are given a heroine. With the inaccurate depiction of the giant warriors we should have known that the other tapestry was incorrect.

Readings from last week

I read the Freud essay in time for class and I was disappointed that we did not discuss the section that interested me the most. Near the end of the article Freud states, "'superstition' need not be the only or the real reason for some particular custom or observance and does not excuse us from the duty of searching for its hidden motives." The way he describes the superstition prior to this explanation was very intriguing to me. She thought the razors should be gotten rid of because next to the shop was an undertaker's office. her superstition was that the undertaker was a bad omen but in reality she was afraid that her husband would fatally injure himself with the newly sharpened razors. Thinking about the real reason behind superstitions reminded me of many of the campus superstitions we have; such as the bad luck caused by stepping on the memorial glad seals. The supposed reason is that stepping on the seal will cause the student to become unable to earn a 4.0. This is obviously just a superstition but perhaps it previously had a subconscious reason behind it.

The other reading (chapter 8 in the Napier book) I was very interested and disappointed by as well. The accounts of Nausicaa and Kiki were enjoyable to read mostly because of how concise they were; however, the section on Totoro was far too revealing for my taste. I was affected mostly by the psychological analysis of the two young girls. I have never seen the film and therefor know very little about the plot. Claiming that the two girls' experience with Totoro and the cat bus was all in their imagination will definitely affect how I view moments in the film. I am sadly not looking forward to viewing it in this new light.

Nausicaa week one

This was my first time watching Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. It was amazing. It was surprisingly hard to give the film my full attention because I was constantly comparing it to Avatar. All I was thinking was, "Why is this film so much better than Avatar yet so much less appreciated?" As I walked to my apartment I contemplated the messages in each of the films and how they play out in the end. I decided that Avatar had an empty resolution. What I mean by this is that Jake Sully has escaped from the evils of humans and has moved on to live a better life. This is wonderful when we are in the theater and joined with the characters of the film, but once we leave the theater they leave us here on earth to rot in our own evils. In Nausicaa, all of the humans join together to save ourselves and our planet. In the end we watch together as our sacrifices and struggles have paid off; we have kept our lives and created new bonds with former enemies. This ending was much more meaningful to me because I felt involved and inspired to take that strength and face the problems of our own world.

The problem that is affecting my world the most right now is the financial crisis of our country. It is beginning to feel like we are close to a financial apocalypse. I almost want an apocalypse to happen just to bring our country back to more clear thinking. We have all gotten so distracted by consumerism and the nuclear family that we've forgotten all other ways to live. To me Nausicaa is a good wake up call; it reminds us that in the face of destruction sacrifice and bravery are necessary. Nausicaa risks her life to try to save nature and her fellow humans. Also, in the end everyone was happy, not because they were back to normal, but because they were still alive and they still had each other. I think in our economic situation we can come up with a better plan to revive the economy if we all just sacrifice a little bit of what we know and love. I won't go any further except to say that what I learned from Nausicaa is far more than what I learned from Avatar and that lesson was one of sacrifice.