Review: Princess Mononoke (1999)

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Princess Mononoke

Rating

Director

Hayao Miyazaki

Screenplay

Hayao Miyazaki

Length

2h 14m

Starring

Billy Crudup, Billy Bob Thornton, Minnie Driver, John DiMaggio, Claire Danes, John DeMita, Jada Pinkett Smith, Gillian Anderson, Keith David, Corey Burton, Tara Charandoff, Julia DeMita

MPAA Rating

PG-13

Review

Nature and human civilization can work together, but only with effort. “Princess Mononoke” is the story of a young boy who takes on the challenge of integrating the two great extremes.

First of all, “Mononoke” is a Japanese animated foreign language film, but has been dubbed for U.S. audiences and probably loses a little in the transition, but the film is nonetheless still intelligent and thought provoking. It asks us if we are ready to accept nature and is nature ready to accept us as coexisting bodies on one planet where we must cohabitate or die.

Ashitaka (Billy Crudup) is the young hero of the story. He comes from a village that has only been rumored to exist and takes great pride in trying to keep the rumor. One day, while surveying the lands near his village, a great evil seems to be roaming the woods, only he doesn’t know what it is. After a few moments, the creature emerges. It is some creature covered in worms of some sort. The creature immediately kills everything in its path and attempts to destroy his village, but never makes it. Ashitaka takes the beast down and we soon discover that it is a giant boar whose place as a god among the forest was destroyed somehow.

Ashitaka is marked by the creature and must fight off being consumed by the hatred the creature represents. He constantly fights to keep the beast within. He is sent out from the village to find the cause of the beast’s foul turning and begins a far-reaching adventure that brings him in contact with the god of nature.

On his journeys, he meets a feral young woman who has apparently been raised by wolves. He also comes across a mining town where a determined woman, Lady Eboshi (Minnie Driver), leads the workers in peace and success. The women are portrayed as strong individuals while the men are presented as if they were cattle. Lady Eboshi has been creating weapons of potential mass destruction, what might be considered the first black powder shotgun.

The major problem with the film is the voice-over work. Billy Bob Thornton is completely wrong for the part of Jigo, a treacherous nature guide who has a great desire to see the god of the forest dead. The others are appropriate, but without the original Japanese dialogue and inflection, there is almost definitely a loss in the translation.

“Princess Mononoke” is a cautionary tale both for and against industrialization. It takes the age-old belief of peace between nature and human civilization and puts a rather vivid and intense picture on it. There are many questions that can be asked and answered by the film. How can we interact with one another without both encroaching on and destroying the other? Is it possible to coexist even when the destruction of one is the byproduct of the other?

Most modern tribes from Native Americans to Aborigines believe that nature should be both preserved and revered. It is a dangerous force to be reckoned with and if we dare to put ourselves above it, it can and will react in violent ways to stop our progress if necessary. They do believe in peaceful coexistence, but even in our modern times, different tribes and cultures cannot get along because of their primal instincts.

While technology has often been a user of natural resources, time and development have allowed us the scientific advances to combat the use of our environment and use only what we can replace. However, it often becomes a matter of cost versus profit when decisions of using or renewing nature come into play. It’s like an eternal circle that may never be broken.

“Mononoke” ponders on this topic without touching it at all. The film is set during a technologically limited time, but can easily be applied to our modern society and probably should. Like other films of its type (“Contact” being a recent example), it asks many questions and it answers many. It also proposes more questions allowing us as individuals to bring our own thoughts and experiences into the discussion and attempt to make our own judgments and evaluations of our own actions so that we can perhaps learn from our mistakes and live and grow as responsible individuals.

“Princess Mononoke” is as ponderous as it is provocative. It delicate intricacies appeal to older audiences while its simple, animated appearance appeals to younger generations hopefully influencing them into action to help preserve and defend nature without condemning technology.

Awards Prospects

“Princess Mononoke” was ineligible for this year’s Oscars. It was submitted by Japan in 1998 for Foreign Language film, but unfortunately was not nominated.