starring Rumi Hiragi, Miyu Irino
written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki
125 minutes
Chihiro moves from the city to the countryside with her parents. They get lost on the day that they move and wind up at what looks (to her father) like an abandoned amusement park. Chihiro soon discovers that there is more to what they have found. Her parents are turned into pigs after they eagerly stuff their faces with food from an unattended shop.
Chihiro is helped by a boy named Haku. He encourages her to get a job at a magical bath house that caters to other worldly spirits. She signs a contract with Yubaba, the owner of the bath house. Chihiro's name is changed to Sen and she is apprenticed to Lin, one of the human looking workers in the bath house.
Sen accepts her new role but continues to try and rescue her parents. She lets a spirit called No-Name into the bath house who causes all sorts of disruption within the establishment. She helps Haku to overcome his own issues which stem in part from the fact that he cannot remember who he was before he came to the bath house.
I watched this movie as it was originally presented, with the Japanese vocal track (and English subtitles). There were a few times that I had to pause the movie because I had trouble reading the subtitles because of the color of the background which they were presented against.
This is the fourth Miyazaki film that I have seen. The other three Miyazaki films that I have watched are Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984), My Neighbor Totoro (1988), and Princess Mononoke (1997).
There is a level of complexity in Miyazaki's films that I find challenging. This movie is no exception in that regard. I enjoyed watching this movie. It moved me in places. I did not find it to be long or tedious. There was one reveal towards the end of the movie that didn't feel earned.
I am very happy that I have seen this movie. I don't know if I will watch it again anytime soon but I would be willing to give it another go. The animation is beautiful.
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