Image from: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0245429/

Funny story about when I first saw this movie back in early Feb. I had heard SO MUCH about it over the last year, and from many different people.
At the time I was staying over at friend’s house, and he hadn’t seen it either. So, there we were in the loungeroom, at 10:30pm, menu up on the screen. Just as we were ready to press play, my friend told me he was going to the bathroom, and then we could finally see the movie that everyone had been raving about. ‘Ok’ I thought, 'fair enough, just a five-minute wait.' And that was more or less true…the bathroom part anyway. You see, that 5-minute bathroom break turned into an hr and a half of side quests as well as visits from friends at 11:15pm (which I’m not complaining about, it was lovely to see them). For a large portion of that time I didn’t even know where he was in his own house. You could say I was more than a little confused at what was going on... We ended up starting the movie at 12am; still not backing down, we’d invested after all! So, here are my thoughts…
The basic premise of the film (without spoiling major plot developments) involves young Chihiro (voiced by Rumi Hiiragi), a 10-year-old girl. When her parents (voiced by Takashi Naito and Yasuko Sawaguchi) are turned into pigs after a detour to an old abandoned amusement park, she finds herself in the spirit world across the river. The particular location is an exotic bathhouse for all sorts of colourful creatures based on Japanese folklore. There she must find a way to not only survive but save her parents. That’s all I’ll get into here, but perhaps in the future I’ll do an in-depth analysis if people are keen.

I told the story at the beginning for a particular reason. Like the hour and a half spent before watching it, Hayao Miyazaki’s Anime film Spirited Away confounded me (and my friend too). And that’s not to say I found it bad by any stretch of the imagination. For me at least, it was one of the most unique movie experiences I’ve had. Not going to lie; by the end…I had no idea what to think or feel at first. Perhaps it’s because at that time I had seen so few anime movies, and not a single production of Studio Ghibli.
Because of this, I wasn’t prepared for the type of story it was telling. More Specifically, its structure was unlike anything I had ever seen; its climax done in a way that I wasn’t used to. I can also tell you this…I had no idea where the story was going, it was entirely unpredictable. Perhaps that’s because on first viewing, the events of the film don’t seem to be entirely interconnected. It’s not until you reach the end of the film, that you can see where they were going with it. And I have to say that there’s a subtle brilliance in that. Why? Because it means you can go back and watch the film with this in mind and see how they set it all up.
But even at that point, by the time the credits rolled, I was still utterly baffled by so much of what had taken place. (probably because it was 2am in the morning…but ya know). In saying that, the next day…I couldn't get the film out of my head. I was just turning over all of the imagery that I had seen, trying to work out what it all meant. And I found myself with a strong urge to watch it again immediately, or at least rewatch some of the scenes
There is a lot (and I mean a lot) of symbolism in this film. So much so that it’s pretty hard to take it all in on the first viewing. Even now I still have more to digest! And you know what? That’s a good thing. At least some level of visual storytelling is an absolute must in any film (at least most films). The movie causes you to think long after you’ve watched it because so much of what happens is not explicitly explained. But there’s enough information for you to be able to try and interpret the intended meaning.

What about the faith side of things? Although it takes many of its ideas and inspiration from Japanese Shinto-Buddhist folklore, I wouldn't say it massively undermines Christian beliefs as a matter of intention. Rather, as other reviewers have pointed out (particularly Deacon Steven Greydanus of Decent Films: http://decentfilms.com/reviews/spiritedaway), it’s done so as to add to the fantastical and imaginative nature of the world in which the story takes place. Nevertheless, it's a caveat worth noting. But aside from this, there are many worthwhile themes that are imbued throughout. Ideas about personal identity, growth and virtues such as courage and a focus on others abound in character development that is clearly observable. Interested to see what you all think of this.
On a side note, something you have to know about me: I’m a soundtrack junkie. And this movie’s soundtrack is absolutely incredible. Composer Joe Hisaishi worked wonders on that piano, and it’s something I still listen to every other day. Some of my favourite pieces from it include "One Summer’s Day”, “The Sixth Station”, as well as “Reprise”. Seriously top tier soundtracking. The animation as well is stunning. The detail that went into creating this world is seriously just top notch, with many unique and extraordinary creature designs.

VERDICT:
All in all, Spirited Away was probably the most ‘different’ experience I’ve had watching a film, but it’s so intriguing that I just want to keep going back to it. I probably wouldn’t show it to really young kids; I know that personally if I saw it at a young age, it would have given me nightmares! But then again, your call!
Until I come up with a better or more imaginative rating system, I’d give this film:
8.5/10.
You know…writing this I feel like I want to rewatch some of my favourite scenes…so I’ll be back.
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