Mike's Musings: Farewell to the Master

The best moments in reading are when you come across something - a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things - that you'd thought special, particular to you.  And here it is, set down by someone else, a person you've never met, maybe even someone long dead.  And it's as if a hand has come out, and taken yours. --- Hector, "The History Boys," written by Alan Bennett

That's the way I'd describe Hayao Miyazaki's films.  Whenever I watch one, I get blanketed in their warmth and imagination.  Watching them is a truly trans-formative experience.  Once the film starts, the world around me ceases to exist, and for the next two hours, I am transported to a wondrous, weird and loving world.

In 1971, Hayao Miyazaki began his directorial career with an episode of "Lupin the 3rd," based on the classic manga.  It didn't last long (23 episodes), although it went on to be a cult phenomenon due to its numerous reruns.  Six years after the show went off the air, Miyazaki created a film version of the show, called "The Castle of Cagliostro."  But it wasn't until 1984, with the release of "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind," that he became a known name.  Since then he's been making movies on a fairly consistent basis.  It wasn't until the one-two punch of "Princess Mononoke" and "Spirited Away," that he became internationally famous.

As a film lover, there has been no other filmmaker who has had such a profound impact on me.  Not even Steven Spielberg, or Martin Scorcese, or any other big name film directors, have created so many films that struck such a deep chord within me.  Whenever I'm feeling bad or am having trouble sleeping, I just throw in one of his movies, and I'm out like a lightbulb fairly quickly.

But his films mean more than that to me.  It's not something I can put into words.  I tried writing a farewell piece to him when I first heard about his retirement, but it turned out to be awful.  Not nearly the sendoff, if that's what "The Wind Rises" is, he deserves.

When I first heard that he was retiring, I was deeply saddened.  There would be no more magic from him.  I check iMDb occasionally to see if he has something in the pipeline.  It's usually around five years between each film (not bad, considering that he draws most of the frames himself and allows no more than 10% of his films to be CGI), but I could wait.  Even his misfires ("Kiki's Delivery Service" and to a lesser extent, "Howl's Moving Castle") were at least engaging and interesting.

There is hope, however.  Miyazaki has planned on retiring many times throughout his career, so his announcement should be taken with a grain of salt.  Granted, he is 73, so he is at the later end of his career, but here's to hoping that he reverses his decision and creates one or two new masterpieces that I know his fans are clamoring for.

But, if indeed this is the end of his career, he has left an indelible legacy on film history.  No other filmmaker will ever be able to replace the magic that he has created.  And for that, Miyazaki-san, I thank you.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Desert Flower

2/4 Starring: Liya Kebede, Sally Hawkins, Timothy Spall, Juliet Stevenson Rated R for Some Violent Content, A Scene of Sexuality and Language The problem with "Desert Flower" is not that Waris Dirie's story isn't suited for the cinematic treatment or that the actress playing her isn't acceptable.  The problem is that director Sherry Hormann doesn't do a good job of telling it.  This is a poorly focused film that can't decide what it wants to be about or what it wants to say. As is the case with many a true story, the life of Waris Dirie is too amazing to be made up by a Hollywood screenwriter.  This woman fled an arranged marriage as a child, spent years as a servant to a Somali diplomat in England, survived on the streets, and was discovered by a fashion photographer while working as a janitor.  Then she became a supermodel and UN Ambassador in the fight against female genital mutilation. Waris experienced a lot in her life.  Telling it all in a...
Read more

The Road

3.5/4 Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Charlize Theron Rated R for Some Violence, Disturbing Images and Language "The Road" has to be the most downbeat, depressing and cynical movie I've ever seen.  That's not meant as a criticism, but a fact.  This is a tough movie to get through, but not a chore.  Those who venture in will find their time well spent, albeit not in a necessarily pleasant way.  Then again, if a movie is based off a novel by Cormac McCarthy, "pleasant" isn't a word one would hope to be used to describe it. The film takes place after the world has ended.  How it happened is not explained because it doesn't matter.  But any hope of the Earth recovering from what happened has long since gone.  A man (Mortensen) and his son (Smit-McPhee) are travelling together, trying to "get to the coast."  There are few people left, although considering what many are doing with the goal of survival, that's a good thing...
Read more

My Left Foot

 2/4 Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Brenda Fricker, Ray McAnally, Fiona Shaw, Alison Whelan Rated R (probably for Language and Brief Violence) "My Left Foot" feels like one of those movies designed to win Oscars and nothing else.  In fact, it did win two Oscars for the immortal Daniel Day-Lewis and Brenda Fricker, but apart from their strong work, there's not much else to remember about this movie.  It's well-acted, but all in all it's pretty dull. Christy Brown (Day-Lewis) is getting recognized for his work in order to raise money for the disabled.  Despite being a talented artist and writer, Christy is not the ideal candidate for the job.  He's an alcoholic jerk who makes no secret of his lust for women nor is he above using his disability to manipulate people into doing what he wants.  Interspersed with his attempts to seduce a woman tasked with looking after him while he awaits his entrance are vignettes from his childhood.  Most notably how his mothe...
Read more