Princess Mononoke

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day 46 of 365 of my year long challenge Week 7: Fantasy "We live in a fantasy world, a world of illusion. The great task in life is to find reality." - Iris Murdoch ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Similar to Wizards, Princess Mononoke is a story about the struggles between technology and nature. It is, however, a far more nuanced, impactful and elegant film that mixes Japanese history, fantasy and adventure with a powerful message. Though titled Princess Mononoke, the film largely belongs to Ashitaka (Yōji Matsuda), a young leader of the Emishi tribe. When a dying boar aims his fevered rampage at the village, Ashitaka kills the beast but is scarred and cursed in the process. To lift the curse, the young man must travel far to the west, to the Deer God and hope that he will be saved. On the edge of the Deer God's forest, Ashitaka finds a town consumed by iron and led by the strong and revolutionary Lady Eboshi (Yūko Tanaka). Populated by social outcasts of all varieties, the town is built and powered by destroying the forest, leading constant conflict with the wolf girl, San (Yuriko Ishida), and her wolves. When the Emperor sends mercenaries to collect the Deer God's head, Eboshi and her men meet the last remaining clan of boars in a battle that will decide the fate of the forest. The film is greatly more nuanced than that with a great deal more taking place, but to give it all away is to rob the film of such wonder. Although Princess Mononoke has long been at the top of my watchlist, and it's reputation well known to me, I went into this essentially blind. A state that makes all the film has to offer infinitely more impactful though I doubt repeat viewings will ever diminish this. The art throughout Princess Mononoke (and the film really is an artwork) is utterly sublime. Awash with watercolours, the world is rich and filled with colour. From the greens and blues of forests to the greys and browns of Irontown, there is little here not filled with a sense of beauty. Likewise, the most violent and grotesque of scenes (make no mistakes, Princess Mononoke is a violent movie) are suffused with rich colour and detail. It is something Studio Ghibli is known for but there is so much detail in every scene it never ceases to amaze. This level of detail carries over to the characters that inhabit the film. Though there is, in the broadest sense, a binary conflict between good and evil, no character is so black and white. The "good" are shadowed by bloodlust and stubborn defiance while the "bad" are tempered by glimpses of benevolence. These shades of grey within every character ensure that even the briefest characters are given some definition and dimension. Neither manipulative or clichéd in their construction, the characters are ones we truly invest in. Ever-present themes of pacifism, environmentalism and feminism that Hayao Miyazaki is known for return in Princess Mononoke. Though less explicit but never less important, feminism, and thus the role women play are seen here as a natural progression. Men rarely question the women of Emishi or Irontown, allowing them to have power without reservation. Beyond direct power, women are simply given agency to do as they please and, in many ways, are capable of controlling their fates far more than men. Pacifism, however, or rather the acts of violence that punctuate the film often come at the hands of behest of women. This is not to say they are evil, simply, their agency in a man's world has forced them to fight back. As the character Jiko-bō (Kaoru Kobayashi) states, "wanting all between heaven and hell is the human condition". It's a slightly depressing sentiment but in light of the tensions between man and the environment, it is far from untrue. Largely that's what the film is about, the environment. Social and gender politics, business, industry and power all rely upon humanities dominance of the environment, a sight rarely better shown than here. I guess human greed will never be quelled, not by reason and certainly not by violence. None of this is to say that Princess Mononoke casts humans as inherently evil, nor does Miyazaki seem to believe so. Rather, the film sees a conflict within humans that can only be settled by understanding and the opening of one's self to harmony and beauty. Cast in shades of grey, the vibrant world of Princess Mononoke is recognisable in the works it has inspired but never feels less than superior and entirely whole. Bittersweet in the best of ways, Princess Mononoke sets the bar high for so much that has and is to come.