Watch Spirited Away - Watch more Videos at Vodpod.
[The video is a bit warped here, just click "Watch spirited away" above to go to the original site where this was found. After clicking the "play" button, a pop-up will show (just exit that), and u mite have to click the play button again to get it working.]
With my foot still healing (and me being home-ridden as a result for 2 days now), I worked on some stuff on my to-do list, and that included rewatching an anime film "Spirited Away". Now, i watched this a long time ago - i rented it when they were still using video cassette tapes I think, and I didn't really like it. I was all hyped up, b/c the commercials hyped it up, saying all the awards it got internationally..and when I watched it, I was a bit underwhelmed. The music started off great, and so did the crisp animation. But, as my young mind yearned for back then, there was NO action. There was no convoluted plot with twists. The voice over for the main character I thought could've been better chosen. The drawings, while crisp, did not animate very smoothly (i think this might have been b/c of the limitation of video tapes before, or maybe it was just developed at 20-30 frames per second). It was also kinda weird. Either way, i didn't like it, i was underwhelmed. But, I wanted to give it another chance. After seeing the top ten movies by the developers, this one kept appearing top 8 or 5. Now that I'm older, I thought I'd give it another chance.
This movie - i love it. The story - for the story, you'd have to have a different mindset. If you're going into this movie expecting an action-driven plot, you're gonna be extremely disappointed. BUT, if you're going into this movie with no expectations, you're gonna be in for a delite. This movie is all about character development, something I didn't think i've heard of before way back when. Great character development, very touching. The music is just perfect here - in some movie and videogames, the music usually overshadows the actual substance (for instance, the brilliant/sad music of metal gear solid usually makes you sad when, in fact, the moment isn't THAT sad - it's just that music that is making you sad, which is what I mean by overshadowing the actual substance of the movie/film), but in here, the music perfectly complements everything the movie has to offer (gonna dl the songs to my ipod - these songs are touching piano pieces, which i always think are must-haves). As for the voice over of the main character...well, Chihiro is SUpposed to be whiny. It's suitable.
This movie is all about Chihiro transforming from this whiny, scared kid to this bold, brave young girl, all in a wonderful setting. Oh yess, i forgot! The animation is good, but the background/environments are absolutely breathtaking, especially near the end, when you will come to see a train surrounded by miles and miles of water, dropping off "souls" at stations in the mean time. It's beautiful. That part alone took my breath away and won me over... I believe my jaw was down when my eyes were glued to teh screen - it was all just b/c i was in wonder of the beautiful city, which really does make you think. If anyone is gonna watch one part, I say skip to the last 20 min or so to watch teh train ride through the miles and miles of water (the scene occurs @ 1 hour and 37 minutes in this video) . The movie's creativity/imagination is top notch, also - and I'm VERY picky of people's "originality" these days, and I'm rarely impressed, but this movie is great. Videogames, and other media in general, can learn from this.
The movie, overall, is a bit long - I actually took a break halfway b/c I was kinda impatient and a TINy bit bored (this is why i hate watching on the internet - it just begs you to be A-D-D). But, this movie deserves ppls' attention, if not for it's simple "Alice-in-Wonderland-esque" plot, but for its creativity/imagination, plus great music to boot. And, if anything, watch that train scene, which will leave you wondering about what's really out there in this world the producers have created.
EDIT: Here is the scene i was talking about! I guess i'm not the only one who thinks this scene is great.
I loved this scene b/c of the feelings (emotion) the visuals, wonder and awe this scene put u through. I also loved this scene PARTLY b/c of Chihiro's situation (leaving her friends and comfort of the bath house to a place that is somewhere desolate and uknown). BUT apparently there is more to this scene than meets the eye. There is alot of symbolism and themes involved in this scene (not to mention the rest of the movie). For example, from a youtube post (which must be taken as a grain of salt), the user says that the japanese believe rivers are a borderline between life and death - and from that, i take that the souls are either going somewhere, or nowhere. Also, from life, to death's resting place. There's alot more interpretations from this site:
http://nakama-britannica.animeuknews.net/2008/08/11/chihiros-train-journey-in-spirited-away/
The interpretors on the site pointed this thing to me. Look at the picture of the "ghost" girl on the site - a striking image, b/c she is going nowhere, while the other souls are moving. She has no place to go. She may be a lost soul =/. This movie is truly for children AND adults alike.
The scenes that took me off the most were (and still are) these:
Beautiful scenes. The first pic is just desolate, and fills you wonder. Who lives there? Is it lonely there? The 2nd scene (leaving another station behind) is sad - the colors of the whole scene, plus the looming clouds, just gives a shiver of melancholy. Awesome movie.
[The video is a bit warped here, just click "Watch spirited away" above to go to the original site where this was found. After clicking the "play" button, a pop-up will show (just exit that), and u mite have to click the play button again to get it working.]
With my foot still healing (and me being home-ridden as a result for 2 days now), I worked on some stuff on my to-do list, and that included rewatching an anime film "Spirited Away". Now, i watched this a long time ago - i rented it when they were still using video cassette tapes I think, and I didn't really like it. I was all hyped up, b/c the commercials hyped it up, saying all the awards it got internationally..and when I watched it, I was a bit underwhelmed. The music started off great, and so did the crisp animation. But, as my young mind yearned for back then, there was NO action. There was no convoluted plot with twists. The voice over for the main character I thought could've been better chosen. The drawings, while crisp, did not animate very smoothly (i think this might have been b/c of the limitation of video tapes before, or maybe it was just developed at 20-30 frames per second). It was also kinda weird. Either way, i didn't like it, i was underwhelmed. But, I wanted to give it another chance. After seeing the top ten movies by the developers, this one kept appearing top 8 or 5. Now that I'm older, I thought I'd give it another chance.
This movie - i love it. The story - for the story, you'd have to have a different mindset. If you're going into this movie expecting an action-driven plot, you're gonna be extremely disappointed. BUT, if you're going into this movie with no expectations, you're gonna be in for a delite. This movie is all about character development, something I didn't think i've heard of before way back when. Great character development, very touching. The music is just perfect here - in some movie and videogames, the music usually overshadows the actual substance (for instance, the brilliant/sad music of metal gear solid usually makes you sad when, in fact, the moment isn't THAT sad - it's just that music that is making you sad, which is what I mean by overshadowing the actual substance of the movie/film), but in here, the music perfectly complements everything the movie has to offer (gonna dl the songs to my ipod - these songs are touching piano pieces, which i always think are must-haves). As for the voice over of the main character...well, Chihiro is SUpposed to be whiny. It's suitable.
This movie is all about Chihiro transforming from this whiny, scared kid to this bold, brave young girl, all in a wonderful setting. Oh yess, i forgot! The animation is good, but the background/environments are absolutely breathtaking, especially near the end, when you will come to see a train surrounded by miles and miles of water, dropping off "souls" at stations in the mean time. It's beautiful. That part alone took my breath away and won me over... I believe my jaw was down when my eyes were glued to teh screen - it was all just b/c i was in wonder of the beautiful city, which really does make you think. If anyone is gonna watch one part, I say skip to the last 20 min or so to watch teh train ride through the miles and miles of water (the scene occurs @ 1 hour and 37 minutes in this video) . The movie's creativity/imagination is top notch, also - and I'm VERY picky of people's "originality" these days, and I'm rarely impressed, but this movie is great. Videogames, and other media in general, can learn from this.
The movie, overall, is a bit long - I actually took a break halfway b/c I was kinda impatient and a TINy bit bored (this is why i hate watching on the internet - it just begs you to be A-D-D). But, this movie deserves ppls' attention, if not for it's simple "Alice-in-Wonderland-esque" plot, but for its creativity/imagination, plus great music to boot. And, if anything, watch that train scene, which will leave you wondering about what's really out there in this world the producers have created.
EDIT: Here is the scene i was talking about! I guess i'm not the only one who thinks this scene is great.
I loved this scene b/c of the feelings (emotion) the visuals, wonder and awe this scene put u through. I also loved this scene PARTLY b/c of Chihiro's situation (leaving her friends and comfort of the bath house to a place that is somewhere desolate and uknown). BUT apparently there is more to this scene than meets the eye. There is alot of symbolism and themes involved in this scene (not to mention the rest of the movie). For example, from a youtube post (which must be taken as a grain of salt), the user says that the japanese believe rivers are a borderline between life and death - and from that, i take that the souls are either going somewhere, or nowhere. Also, from life, to death's resting place. There's alot more interpretations from this site:
http://nakama-britannica.animeuknews.net/2008/08/11/chihiros-train-journey-in-spirited-away/
The interpretors on the site pointed this thing to me. Look at the picture of the "ghost" girl on the site - a striking image, b/c she is going nowhere, while the other souls are moving. She has no place to go. She may be a lost soul =/. This movie is truly for children AND adults alike.
The scenes that took me off the most were (and still are) these:
Beautiful scenes. The first pic is just desolate, and fills you wonder. Who lives there? Is it lonely there? The 2nd scene (leaving another station behind) is sad - the colors of the whole scene, plus the looming clouds, just gives a shiver of melancholy. Awesome movie.
1 comment:
I came across this and have to agree wholeheartedly. This scene is utterly haunting and easily my fave from the movie.
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