Spirited Away

I will start of by saying that I don't watch Animes. (I've only watched one series, and that was SlamDunk!) I never found any reason for me to invest a huge amount of time into them - they last for over 100 episodes! That said, Spirited Away is truly an amazing movie.

It is in some ways like Alice in Wonderland, and it brings us into a fantasy world of creatures and monsters of many types. I do understand that most animes do this, but to have a movie (which is around 2 hours long), tell a story, and describe this entire world to us, is truly amazing. For 2 hours, I felt that I was sucked into a world that was created by Miyazaki, and like Chihiro at the end, I did not want to leave it.

Spirited Away is about a 10 year old girl, Chihiro, who is moving to a new place. Along the way, her father, stumbles across a temple like building, and they find a tunnel, in which at the end of it they find a village of its own. Her father mentions that the place is probably an 'abandoned theme park' and it was closed down due to the 'bad economy'. Her parents find an open air restaurant filled with food but no customers and no workers. They dig in, but Chihiro refuses to join them, and hence explores the place. As night falls, she meets a mysterious Haku, who offers to help her. She later finds out that her parents have turn into pigs, and she must find a way to break the spell. Along the way, she meets all different types of creatures, and that is what the beauty of the movie is.

For me, I must admit, that I do sound like an 8 year old child being extremely fascinated by the creatures and monsters available in the film. I know there will be arguments that there are other Animes, that provide more complex villains, monsters, creatures, but the simplicity of the creatures in this movie still amazes me. The key thing about this movie is like I said above - in 2 hours, you get sucked into this world, and you never want to leave it.

However, there is a deeper meaning behind the creatures, and the fantasy world that Mayazaki's created.

There is an underlying theme about the innocence of a child, and how we should never lose it. In the movie, Haku is unable to remember his real name, but he tells Chihiro to always remember hers - but why? He gives the reason that its because Yubaba controls her by stealing her name. There is an important analogy in this - many of us, as we grow older, and complicate our lives with decisions that are selfish, and made out of greed (as it is with the workers in the Bathhouse), tend to forget our childhood innocence. Chihiro, in the film makes decision on what she deems morally right. She does not look at it from the aspect of money, nor selfishness, but rather on what would make her help the world become a better place. She helps the 'River Spirit' out of sheer kindness - she does not take into consideration the effort, nor the reward she might get out of it.

That is the whole theme of the movie. There are many others - like love, taking care of the state of our environment, but this to me is the most important. Its about how, many of us in many ways, believe our life is so complex, but we forget that when we look through a child's eyes, it isn't. We just choose to make it that way.

Spirited Away is truly an amazing film. It looks like a children's film from the surface, but there's more to it than many of us will see. It is truly one of the best animated films I've seen.

Rating: 4.5/5

Written by Kevin Lau

Venus

Relationships can be based on almost anything, whether its based on love, friendship, or work. It can be between people of different kinds, different races, different ages. This movie is essentially about the relationship between Maurice Russell (Peter O'Toole) and Jessie (Jodie Whittaker). Maurice is an old man reaching towards the end of his life, who is enchanted by his friend's (Ian (Leslie Phillips)) niece's daughter. Together they share a relationship, which seems more sexual than not. (When I say sexual, don't worry, I only mean to very certain limits. No kissing or more involved)

When the movie starts, we learn that Maurice and his friends are actors, who have lived pass their glory days. Maurice still acts, but only bit roles, such as in one scene, he is seen acting the role of a 'corpse' in which his wife (Valerie, played by Vanessa Redgrave) believes he is being 'type-casted'. He is then acquainted with Ian's niece's daughter, Jessie, where he is blown away by her beauty, and he considers her as a Goddess (Venus in particular). A friendship (in some ways) builds but its not a personal one, as both have completely different characters - Jessie is rude, lazy, and spends half her time eating and sleeping whereas Maurice is in some ways less conservative than his friends, but still nevertheless rather old fashioned.

For me, this movie is about the relationship between Jessie and Maurice. Although at times there might be complaints of it being slightly perverted, I do feel that in some ways, for this movie to be unique, and for it to work, it has to be about Maurice's sexual nature. Its because of this, we can see more of what Maurice is, an old man who wants to relive his younger days before he finally passes.

*MIGHT BE A SPOILER HERE. DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW!*
There is an absolutely beautiful scene at the end of the movie, where Maurice and Jessie are seating by the beach, and he then passes away after seeing the ocean. It was a wonderful way of telling us that he has fulfilled his final wish (to relive his younger days), and he can now leave with peace.
*END OF SPOILER*

The acting performances in this movie are world class. Peter O'Toole thoroughly deserves his Oscar nomination for this movie, and its amazing how at his age, he's still able to produce a performance of this standard. Its truly incredible. Jodie Whittaker, a newcomer in this movie, also puts in a brilliant performance. A notable mention might be Leslie Phillips who I thought in many ways was extremely hilarious in the way he portrayed the over-conservative Ian.

This movie is truly a gem. The only pity would probably be that not as much marketing was done for this movie compared to the other Oscar nominated movies, but nevertheless, I'm happy to spread the word about it. Its an amazing movie, full of wit and charm.

Rating: 4.3/5

Written by Kevin Lau