Spirited Away

Anime review

Spoiler alert !

"Collect as many leaves as you can. We'll sort them out later", said Ligi aunty, our teacher.

My classmates and I ran around gathering all we could, even dry leaves. But it still wasn't enough for our project. 

Out of nowhere, there was a wind, and the trees danced, shedding thousands of leaves. We jumped merrily amid the falling leaves.    

"How did the trees know, aunty?"

"They know everything, my child. They have spirits of their own. They laugh, cry and feel like us, humans. They are living beings after all!"

My 10 year old self was very delighted to hear this. My love and respect for nature has only grown through the years.

Spirited Away is a 2001 fantasy anime film directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli. It was the highest-grossing film in Japanese history for 19 years until it was surpassed by 'Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba - The Movie: Mugen Train' in 2020. 

It is regarded as one of the greatest films of all time, and for good reason. Like any other Ghibli film, it makes us wonder at the beauty of life through its unique storytelling and mind-blowing animation. 

The film begins with 10-year-old Chihiro and her parents moving into a new town. Once again, Ghibli has done a beautiful job capturing every little detail of nature throughout the film. 

An upset Chihiro talks about not wanting to go to a new school, lying in the backseat of her car. On the way to their new house, she spots spirit shrines on the roadsides. Her father takes the wrong turn off, and they get lost ending up in an old building, that gives us the creeps, the same way it does to Chihiro.     

Her intrigued and unbothered parents start exploring the place, which leads them to find out that they are at an abandoned theme park.

"Did you hear that building? It was moaning."

"It's just the wind, Chihiro."

They cross a very shallow, almost-dry river to the other side of the park filled with empty restaurants. The creeps start building up as there is a significant amount of food kept out in the open in this uninhabited place. Despite Chihiro's concern of getting into trouble, her parents begin gobbling up the food. While they are at it, Chihiro starts wandering around and comes across a bathhouse, again, adding to the bizarreness of the place. She looks at a train, going below the bridge to the bathhouse, when suddenly a boy appears and warns her to return to the other side of the river before it gets dark. Terrified, Chihiro runs back to the park only to find her parents transformed into pigs, voraciously devouring the food. She sees apparitions moving around. She tries to get to the other side, but the then-shallow river is now filled with water to the brim. If that were not enough, she finds her physical form disappearing. She wants to believe that it is all just a bad dream, but then she sees a boat full of spirits and ghost-like figures approaching the riverbank.  

She hides behind the bathhouse. The boy she encountered earlier reappears, gives her a pill and recites a prayer that stops her from being see-through.

"In the name of the wind and the water behind thee, unbind her."

Haku advises her to get a job from Yubaba, the witch who rules the bathhouse, if she wants to save her parents and stay alive because humans are not allowed at the place(kami).

"How do you know my name, Haku?"

"I've known you since you were small."

Chihiro finds her way to Kamaji, the boiler man who refuses to give her a job. He claims he has enough help from the susuwatari / soot sprites. The cute little susuwataris are given star candies for food; a scene so adorable, anyone would go "Aww!" This aspect of Ghibli; incorporating Japanese myths and folklores into its films, is what makes it distinctive and enriching. 

Chihiro bonds with Kamaji's granddaughter, Lin, who helps her reach Yubaba's room without anyone noticing. She convinces the greedy witch to give her a job. She signs a deal that makes Yubaba take over her name and gives Chihiro a new name, Sen. Haku is Yubaba's henchman and he escorts Sen to her workplace.

The next morning, before anyone wakes up, Haku takes Sen to her pig-transformed parents. It's only when he gives Sen her name-card, she realizes that she is slowly forgetting her real name, Chihiro. 

"If you completely forget your name, you'll never find your way home. I've tried everything to remember mine. But for some reason I remember yours", says Haku.

Chihiro cries out loud. Haku consoles her saying everything will be alright. Before they part ways, she witnesses him fly off as a dragon. 

Chihiro soon gets used to the place. One day, she lets a spirit 'No-Face' into the bathhouse. She helps the River-spirit, a customer, by pulling out the filth inside it, for which she is appreciated by the workers of the bathhouse. The newly cleansed spirit leaves the place with gold, and gifts her a magic emetic dumpling. Ghibli's subtle use of metaphors is yet another striking factor.

An avaricious frog lingers around, in search for more gold, but is swallowed by No-Face. The frog takes over No-Face and creates chaos by swallowing other workers. 

Meanwhile, Chihiro sees paper shikigami attack Haku. She goes inside Yubaba's penthouse, following him, who is being chased by shikigami. She stops Zeniba, Yubaba's twin sister from harming Haku, who is already badly injured. Zeniba claims she was only trying to take back the solid gold seal Haku stole from her. She turns Yubaba's son, Boh, into a mouse. Chihiro saves Haku by feeding him the emetic dumpling.

She then sets out to return the gold seal to Zeniba. No-Face follows her after spitting out the frog. 

Yubaba freaks out about her missing son and Haku promises to return Boh if she would tear up Sen's contract and return Sen and her parents back to the human world. Yubaba agrees, on the condition of giving Sen a final test. 

The river has now become a sea. Chihiro, Boh and No-Face take the train to Zeniba's house. Through their conversations, Chihiro learns that Zeniba is a kind person. Zeniba is happy to know that her spell on Haku was broken by love and invites No-Face to live with her.  

On the ride back home, Chihiro gets a deja vu, and remembers how Haku knows her. This is the pivotal moment of the film. 

"When I was little, I dropped my shoe into a river. When I tried to get it back, I fell in. I thought I'd drown, but the water carried me to the shore. It finally came back to me. The river's name was Kohaku river. I think that was you, and your real name is Kohaku river! You were the one that carried me to shallow water."

On hearing this, Haku loses his dragon form and remembers that he is the spirit of the Kohaku river. 

"They filled in that river. It's all apartments now." 

"That must be why I can't find my way home."

 He has no home.  

Chihiro passes the final test of the witch and is now able to return home. The river can be crossed as its shallow again. In her final moments with Haku, he asks her to go and to not look back. He tells her that he will quit being an apprentice of Yubaba and now that he got his name back, he will be fine. Finally, he promises that they will meet again. 

Chihiro crosses the river and hears her parents calling out to her from the abandoned building. They do not remember anything. Little Chihiro stands in awe of the newfound world and the newfound sense of self she has discovered.

"A new home and a new school? It is a bit scary. I think I can handle it."

For 2 hours, we are taken into a less-frightening, more-fascinating world of spirits through a little girl who completely transforms it into a better place. Not to mention, the aesthetic beauty of it all. Miyazaki employs such vivid and imaginative animation to convey his message. 

Everything that surrounds you, from the smallest leaf to the largest ocean, possesses a spirit. Why else does the wind sing for you, the rivers look out for you, and the trees sway in dance for you?

When we destroy the things around us, we destroy their very spirits. Spirits that make the world lively and happy. 

In a world where identities are lost, this film teaches us to protect the essence of all things. 

  

My ★★★★½ review of Spirited Away on Letterboxd https://boxd.it/4IvY4x

This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon 2023.

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