Thanks for writing such an insightful essay about what was, in many ways, a very bewildering movie. It mostly didn’t work for me, I found the lack of logic pretty boring, but reading your essay, I understand the thinking which might have gone behind such a choice.
A note on language which surprised me when I watched the movie. I'd heard the English of the title "How do you live" before I watched the movie and I assumed it was a translation of どう住んでる？with the verb "live" as in "live in a house." But the actual title in Japanese is 君たちはどう行きる (kimi-tachi dou ikiru ka?). It means "how do you (plural, many of you, all of you) live (as opposed to die)?" So, a good title :) now I need to read the novel from the 30s with the same name that apparently inspired Miyazake.
Yeah, the original title is better, I think. Also, apparently the only thing Miyazaki took from the novel is the name! Sounds like it's more a mixing of disparate elements from different books
The impression I got - and maybe I'm wrong about this - was that the fantasy in the movie was the main characters (Mahito and Natsuko his stepmother) who refused the hero's journeys of their lives. Mahito hit himself with a rock so he wouldn't have to go to school or build a new life here or a relationship with his stepmother. Natsuko ran away toward the end of her pregnancy so she wouldn't have the be the lady of the house. Running away from reality, they ran into a fantasy world, as in Pan's Labyrinth.
Not well enough right not to be articulate, but still wanted to say I greatly appreciated that as it is a film that moved me on what felt like a deep, almost pre-verbal level, while simultaneously recognising all of its jagged imperfections - I don't think I'd have it any other way though, I bit like Twin Peaks: The Return or other examples of a great artist's late style.
Thanks for writing such an insightful essay about what was, in many ways, a very bewildering movie. It mostly didn’t work for me, I found the lack of logic pretty boring, but reading your essay, I understand the thinking which might have gone behind such a choice.
Great stuff here Ed ... I loved this movie. Hard to recognize it could really be the end of our time with M
A note on language which surprised me when I watched the movie. I'd heard the English of the title "How do you live" before I watched the movie and I assumed it was a translation of どう住んでる？with the verb "live" as in "live in a house." But the actual title in Japanese is 君たちはどう行きる (kimi-tachi dou ikiru ka?). It means "how do you (plural, many of you, all of you) live (as opposed to die)?" So, a good title :) now I need to read the novel from the 30s with the same name that apparently inspired Miyazake.
Yeah, the original title is better, I think. Also, apparently the only thing Miyazaki took from the novel is the name! Sounds like it's more a mixing of disparate elements from different books
The impression I got - and maybe I'm wrong about this - was that the fantasy in the movie was the main characters (Mahito and Natsuko his stepmother) who refused the hero's journeys of their lives. Mahito hit himself with a rock so he wouldn't have to go to school or build a new life here or a relationship with his stepmother. Natsuko ran away toward the end of her pregnancy so she wouldn't have the be the lady of the house. Running away from reality, they ran into a fantasy world, as in Pan's Labyrinth.
Ah, I think this is a very good interpretation
Not well enough right not to be articulate, but still wanted to say I greatly appreciated that as it is a film that moved me on what felt like a deep, almost pre-verbal level, while simultaneously recognising all of its jagged imperfections - I don't think I'd have it any other way though, I bit like Twin Peaks: The Return or other examples of a great artist's late style.
Beautiful review, and the second time I’ve seen the beautiful new-to-me word “ensorcelled” in as many days on Substack 😮
Ha, there must be something in the air! Ensorcelled is a real good word!
Ah, Baba Yaga is a good comparison!
Helldriver sounds like my kind of movie! I'll look into it!
Hahaha, I'm tough to shock!