Princess Mononoke

Princess Mononoke (1999) Written and Directed by Miyazaki Hayao English Adaptation Neil Gaiman.

Ashitaka (Billy Crudup) is a guardian for his tribe, a hidden people who live in harmony with nature. But when his village is attacked by a boar spirit transformed into a monster, Ashitaka is infected with its evil. Exiled for the greater good, Ashitaka makes his way west, looking for the source of the evil that infected the boar spirit.

In the west, he discovers samurai terrorizing the peasantry. He intervenes and moves through the disputed territory to Iron Town.

Here, he discovers the source of the iron ball that felled the boar spirit. He also finds Lady Eboshi (Minnie Driver). Lady Eboshi is a woman with a vision. She mines iron to make fire arms with which she arms her people. Her people include a great number of women freed from brothels, and lepers. All of them are marginalized people, and working the foundry gives them sustenance, support, pride, and the ability to fight back. The problem is the easy to access iron has been mined from the sands, and now they have to dig for it. The problem with that is they have to strip the forest back to get at the iron, and the forest spirits object. They object passionately, and with lethal effect.

But Lady Eboshi fears neither Daimyo nor Forest God, and she continues, advancing the cause of technology over nature, because that is what she must do to take care of her people.

While there, Iron Town comes under attack. San (Claire Danes), a human girl raised by Moro (Gillian Anderson) the leader of the Wolf Spirits, and who considers herself to be a wolf, attacks, trying to assassinate Lady Eboshi. Ashitaka tries to stop both of them fighting.

Mortally wounded in defending both women from each other, Ashitaka takes San back to the forest. San, finding her self rescued by this stranger, takes him deep into the forest, to the lair of the Forest Spirit. This entity is a god of life and death, with power over both. He saves Ashitaka, but he does not cure the cursed rotting that afflicts him. Apparently, more is required.

A third faction in this conflict is Jigo (Billy Bob Thornton), an agent of the Emperor. He helps every body. Is it because he is so nice? No. He wants to collect the head of the Forest Spirit; it seems the Emperor wishes to be immortal. Jigo wishes to be rich and powerful. And so he helps who ever he thinks will get him in range.

Can Ashitaka weave a path between these three factions? Can he save the Forest? Can he stop the Samurai from killing Iron Town? Can he stop Jigo's nefarious plot? Can he help San reconnect with her humanity? And will he be spared the painful rotting death that will turn him into a monster? Can he truly see with eyes unclouded by hate?

This movie is wonderful because it does not take the Western dichotomous view of good and evil. No one here is truly evil; Lady Eboshi is a compassionate woman helping the dispossessed. The wolves and boars are protecting their forest, as is their job. Only Jigo's motives are entirely selfish, and even then, he is not evil. Yet these people pursue their goals without regard for the consequences.

The action is heavier in this movie than most Miyazaki movies. There is less detailed character development, a hallmark of his movies, but this suits the story, and is a strength; it shows he can be versatile. Also, the fluidity of the motion is amazing, far superior to most animation.

And the message here is important. What is more important? Individual human need or long term ecological conservation? Miyazaki does not preach, he merely tells a tale that forces you to think about the issue. This is the mark of the true artist.

If I have any complaint with this movie, it is that the English translation is not flawless; not only does the sinc not match totally, but the voice actors, while good, do not have the rich range of the Japanese actors. I don't speak any more Japanese than you can pick up from watching Shogun obsessively, but I do know what sounds better. Also, as with any Japanese/English translation, you loose nuance because the structures of the language are so very different.

This movie was nominated for 15 various international awards and won 11 of them. It's acceptance in America was hampered by Disney's desire to modify the film, and Miyazaki's refusal to allow it. In a seemingly petty move, the number of theaters to show the film was severely reduced, and then they had the gall to be disappointed when the numbers did not match the original projections.

This movie frequently makes the Top Ten Animated movie lists, and I can see why. It is a masterpiece, and will appeal to young and old alike.

In this day and age of growing "Green" awareness, it is nice to find a vehicle that makes the argument so eloquently without annoying soapbox preaching. I give this movie my highest recommendation.