Princess Mononoke (1997)

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Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Writer: Hayao Miyazaki, English version adapted by Neil Gaiman

Stars: Yuriko Ishida/Claire Danes, Yoji Matsuda/Billy Crudup, Kaoru Kobayashi/Billy Bob Thornton, Yuko Tanaka/Minnie Driver

 


In ancient Japan, a cursed prince travels to a land where men and the gods of nature struggle to define their positions in a newly emerging world order. 



Exquisite animation is to be expected in a film by Hayao Miyazaki, and he does not disappoint here. 



But this film also delivers his most profound moral statement in a story that does not feature simple heroes and villains.

 


The human drive to control the environment and improve the quality of life, in the form of Lady Eboshi's ironworks, upsets the balance of nature, but there is more to her than that.

 


The lepers who make her rifles are grateful for the good treatment they receive from her, and the workers in her factory are prostitutes that she has rescued from the brothels.

 


Her desire to slay the gods of the forest with her rifles and iron bullets is a potent metaphor for man's drive to conquer nature with technology. 



The creatures of the forest are not simplistic good guys, either. 



They can be violent and are in danger of being transformed into demons by their rage.

 


This complex film is a joy to watch and has the power of myth.












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