Page Title

Spirited Away

FILM ANALYSIS

Spirited Away (Japan, 2001), is an animated movie directed by Hayao Miyazaki. The animation is set mostly in a Japanese bathhouse.

Spirited Away fits into the fantasy genre. This is because it has many fantasy themes, such as dragons, gods and spirits. Most of the fantasy based characters from the film, feel as if they are traditional Japanese characters from myths.

There are many recurring themes and issues in the film. Greed is, debatably, the most important theme. In Spirited Away, greed causes the downfall in most characters, making them ignorant of what really matters. For instance, when Chihiro’s parents eat the food at the stall without giving a second thought, they turn into pigs. The workers in the bathhouse are very greedy for gold, and because of this some of them get eaten. Haku is also greedy as he tried to steal Zeniba’s golden seal (her power) and Yubaba’s power. Due to this he almost died .Yubaba is also very greedy. For example, when Haku tells her that something of great importance has been replaced, she looks at the gold before she considers her baby.

Another theme in Spirited Away is that there is no definitive good or evil. No-face is a good example of this. In the beginning he is kind and offers Chihiro the bath-tokens. But soon his greed for food takes over and he goes on a rampage. It is also hinted by Lin that Haku does Yubaba’s dirty work although he also has a good side as he helps Chihiro. In that way, the good people e.g. Sen seem to bring the good out of others. Even Yubaba isn't completely evil, because she shows love and compassion, even if it's only towards her baby.

Names are also important in the film. Yubaba takes someone’s name to control them, in this world a name basically defines the character it belongs to and once you forget that, you forget how you were. I believe that names are used as a metaphor for your identity.

Environmentalism is a recurring theme in Hayao Miyazaki films. In Spirited Away, in the beginning, Chihiro's dad talks about the economy and how the theme parks were all built in the early 90's, then the economy went bad and the parks went bankrupt. Another example is how the river spirit was so polluted that it resembled a stink spirit. This is also shown with Haku. Haku was a river spirit named “the Kohaku River Spirit”, but he could never find his home because it was filled in to build apartments.

Hayao Miyazaki is the director and original creator of Spirited Away. He is wildly popular in Japan. All of his films have been popular in Japan. Miyazaki loved flight and old planes, possibly because his family owned a company that manufactured wingtips for Zero fighters. This is why there are lots of things to do with flying in the film.

Spirited Away also has similar traits recognised in Miyazaki’s other films. For example, many of his films don’t have a definitive villain. His films also contains references to pigs. But most importantly, most of his main characters are female. This may be because it is more interesting with females. For example, if a female is doing an action scene it’s more interesting than a male doing one because it doesn’t feel as natural with a female.

In the words of Mr. Miyazaki:

“When a man is shooting a handgun, it's just like he is shooting because that's his job, and he has no other choice. It's no good. When a girl is shooting a handgun, it's really something.” – Hayao Miyazaki.

One of the best features of Spirited Away is its soundtrack. It is well used and beautifully orchestrated. The music coincides with the visual parts of the film to establish a mood. And, in a sense, is about as important as the dialogue in creating the film.

Spirited Away reflects many cultural values. First of all, it is set in a Japanese bathhouse for spirits. This reflects how in rural Japan, villagers asked all spirits in their area to come and bathe in their houses. Also, whenever Chihiro meets someone of greater importance than her or someone older than her, she bows to them. This is seen as a sign of respect in Japan.

Sake is an alcoholic drink native to Japan; it is used in the film when the River god leaves a lot of gold on the floor and Yababa exclaims that sake is on the house.

Real life architecture is also a main cultural similarity; the buildings in Spirited Away are just a more extravagant version of bathhouses today. They even included the paper walls and bed mats. And in the beginning we see shrines located near a tree, these shrines are very similar to real shrines.

Many things are visually represented in the film. For example, Chihiro’s parents and gold represent greed in the film. Gold in the film usually creates greed in the film; most of the workers are greedy as well as Yubaba mainly because of their love for gold. Love is represented by the one-way train ticket in the film. When Chihiro takes the ticket, it signifies that she is willing to do anything for Haku, which is a sign of true love. The last visual representation is of friendship, this is represented by the hair band made by her friends.

Hayao Miyazaki uses many film techniques to establish the feel of the movie at certain times. In Spirited Away he shows wind sweeping through grass and in the train scene, water making circles as the train goes by. These shots are used to establish the animated world.

The film also uses appropriate lighting that fits in with the event in progress. A good example of this is in the beginning when Haku tells Chihiro to leave. All of a sudden the background starts darkening, creating a sense of haste.

Medium close-up shots are used in the film to show emotion. A particular instance of this is when she runs to her mum and dad only to find them as pigs. High and low camera angles are used in the film. High camera angles are used to show the character and what is happening around them, an example of this is when Chihiro shouts out for her mum when she finds pigs where her parents were. Low camera angles are used to make things look bigger than they are. This shot is used when Lin and Chihiro go up the service elevator to go to Yubaba.

Spirited Away is a film of epic proportion; it contains everything that a good film contains.