Hayao Miyazaki
Principessa Mononoke [2014]

The trio of Miyazaki films re-released in theaters in 2014 began with the beautiful Princess Mononoke, re-adapted and re-dubbed for the occasion. The adventures of Ashitaka and San are a wonderful ecological fairy tale, but unlike many other films (Avatar), they do not fall into the easy trap of separating the two factions, man and nature, in a simplistic way. Miyazaki identifies with great logical refinement a series of different shades in ecological or anti-ecological thought. The world of humans, like that of animals, is composed of many different points of view.

So we have the great king of the giant boars, Okkotonushi, who chooses direct confrontation with humans, Moro the wolf, San's adoptive mother, who instead prefers a non-violent path of acceptance, even of death; the girl San, who rejects her human origins and does not accept returning to civilization, despite her mother's and her lover Ashitaka's invitation. Reflectively, human hierarchies are equally diverse and complex: Lady Eboshi is very similar to a villain, but in reality, she is not completely so, if we consider that the so-called Forge is a community that lives in great harmony, despite working hard: the women are emancipated and active, the lepers have their own space in which to live and feel part of society. Beyond the complex figure of Eboshi, naturally, we have the protagonist serving as a point of junction and harmonious composition between animal logic and human logic. Perhaps only he has a truly clear idea of the possibility of coexistence between the two counterparts.

The structure of the conflict is thus quite complicated by the divergent wills of individuals: the two fronts are not compact and homogeneous, thus they split into a multitude of subplots and parallel developments. Animals and humans also clash among themselves: the boars and wild dogs (wouldn't it have been easier to call them wolves?) have different philosophies, the orangutans would like to feed on Ashitaka, there isn't a genuine unity of intent among the different races. The beast god is an elusive, ghostly entity: each animal species gives it its interpretation, reading its actions according to a certain perspective.

Likewise, even more so, the human faction is permeated by very harsh contrasts, which indeed spill over into real, one might say fratricidal, violence. The samurai attack the Forge while Lady Eboshi is away, the city's inhabitants themselves detach from the Lady when Ashitaka explains the gravity of the situation to them. Meanwhile, Jiko-Bō's men, initially thought wise but later revealed as ruthless traitors, though always on the edge of comedy, are the true unscrupulous and destructive force, who do not impose moral limits in the face of the need to achieve their goal: to cut off the beast god's head.

The ecological issue is therefore developed with great depth: it is not man (obviously) who wins, but neither is it the blind fury of the animals aimed at preserving the forest: Ashitaka, human but infected by the animalistic rage of a boar/malignant god, understands the legitimacy of both positions and indeed he is the one who resolves the crisis. The decapitated beast god is destroying everything: our hero will succeed in returning its head and wonderfully reviving nature. However, this does not entail the extinction of humans, but rather the development of a stronger environmental conscience. Even Eboshi is not evil; she only aspired to bring wealth and prosperity to her city. The problem is always how things are done; man has the right to thrive but need not do so necessarily by annihilating the natural world.

Aesthetically speaking, the film presents a splendid visual arsenal, though not as dazzling as that of other masterpieces: what prevails is a realistic vision of the world, no matter how obviously deformed by the magical and the divine. The sense of the fantastic is insinuated more subtly compared to other films by master Miyazaki: sure, there are gigantic animals, there's the beast god who transforms and performs miracles, but the visual sector focuses especially on the more ordinary and non-supernatural dimension of events: naturalistic scenes, dialogues, and violent confrontations clearly prevail. The magic is not as overwhelming as in Howl’s Moving Castle, the technology is not so strange and retro-futuristic either (Laputa, Howl’s Moving Castle, etc.), the creatures are not as absurd (Spirited Away). The distortions of reality seem more aimed at metaphor and intensification of the true than the denial of it.

This does not detract from the aesthetic enjoyment, which, as in every film by the master, is extremely high and constant. The bright colors, the beauty of the drawings, the direction in the more dynamic scenes; every element contributes to the final result, which is to call it enchanting is an understatement. Almost 20 years have passed, but the technique of this animated film seems almost perfect. Some scenes set in the woods reach peaks of poeticism that are absolutely rare; the Kodama that follow Ashitaka and guide him, the beast god that arrives, in absolute silence, and brings healing or death, depending on the case. The visual pleasure and emotional suggestion of these passages infuse magic into a film that is already very solid in itself.

The only flaw of this new Italian edition, certainly not attributable to Miyazaki, is the translation of some words. It makes one frown a little, considering the film has just been re-adapted: in Italian, one does not say "vi sono obbligato" to thank, some words are not translated into standard Italian but according to regional varieties (now I don’t remember precisely which ones, but the dissonance was clear). Finally, a slightly more elegant paraphrase could have been found to identify the forest god.

In conclusion; a film of great value, which stimulates the viewer’s reflection on the man vs. nature issue and delights them with the usual visual quality and imaginative creativity. Technically, the master may also do better, but in terms of content, this is his greatest masterpiece.

9/10