Noahzzzz

Harrowing movie. Im not sure what that word means but.. feels right. The visuals are  vert seductive. Long patient takes of oceans, weeds, beautiful vignettes in which characters are bound to crosses and drowned mercilessly while crying out God’s name. This movie surely makes even the most secular audience think about their relationship to God and that’s a great thing to do. Or it doesn’t and it connects with you on the pure idea that something you believe is true. Is it worth dying for? Is it worth letting others die to protect the thing you believe to be true? Or is it pride? . My interpretation is in theory it is enough that people die for something they believe is true but in practice you will surely give it up eventually but that struggle is the point. If you struggled a lot it was worth it and if you struggled a little it was worth it. Now that seems wrong though. Any simplistic interpretation seems to lack the nuance of the movie. But its never cynical. Even when its characters are, Japan clearly isn’t a swamp. People aren’t willing to die for Rodriguez they’re willing to die for God before he’s even there however they interpret him. The silence from God gets a beautiful resolution in the apostasy of rodriguez.  What I can say is it interrogates faith on the grounds of a faith it believes can be spiritual. It never once paints people as delirious. Even the inquisitor doesn’t believe Christianity is a spiritual evil but a pragmatic issue. A political one having more to do with the culture of the country than the faith the citizens practice. The Inquisitor kills hundreds for their faith and tells Rodriguez that he is selfish for not giving up his faith, he’s clearly inciting the issue and yet it is Rodriguez’s pride to make himself a story of martyrdom. But what did the apostasy cause him? Would death have been better? If he truly believed then maybe it was him passing the test to let them die. God sees all after all. Maybe the guilt he felt was the devil working against him. This movie is relentless and perfect. However knowing that this could never happen to me as a muslim because Allah knows whats in our hearts and we’re allowed to lie with our tongues does make me feel better.

WHAT A MOVIE. Finally saw it in theaters and i just love it so much. What an experience for kids this is a very scary movie for a long time. Not scary in any common way scary in a very particular way, being alone in an unfamiliar place and being paid little attention by those around you. The scene where the spirit world comes alive is genuinely disorienting for a long period of time and never quite eases until she finally gets a job. Its unrelenting strangeness and extreme indifference but with a beating heart. Kajimi is genuinely nice as are the soot, yubaba did sign a contract saying anyone that asked for work could get it, her friend is thrilled when she gets a job. The world in Miyazaki’s eyes is mostly indifferent vast and strange but willing to help those that need it if you stay long enough with purpose. And become useful.  The craft is immaculate in this movie, the creatures and world and economy and mileu is of the kind where you want a peak in the creators brain to see how someone might come up with this. The stink spirit scene specifically is an incredible piece of spectacle filmmaking but its hidden in pure mileu. You never once feel that you’ve entered a different scene or world than the movie has lived inside. The moments of silence are honestly more emotional and memorable than the chaos as well. The scene where Chihiro gets the job, and her uniform and cant help but break down. Or when she eats the rice thing and breaks down at her maximum strength. The film makes it clear that Chihiro’s strength IS her emotional attunment to others and herself. From the beginning the quality which she treats her owj emotions are what lead her to safety where others went astray.  This movie operates on pure emotional weather as Miyazaki didn’t actually have a script but storyboarded until he found the ending. And while I feel it doesn’t work in other movies of his like howls moving castle this one works very well. Arguably the strongest act is the third act beginning with no face’s rampage to ghe endinng. Its the most immersive, quiet, and contains by far my favorite scene the train sequence. The reverence I have for this movie and the pure joy and love might be rivaled only by princess mononoke and ratatouille for animated movies. Its a complete endless pit of depth and beauty i could watch 100 times.