Sin #35: Nature's Calling

There may be wars and hunger, frailty and death, but while you’re watching a Miyazaki film all is right with the world. Hayao Miyazaki is a true humanitarian, a man who makes movies about people and their connection with nature. In “My Neighbor Totoro” we’re introduced to a family moving into their new home in a Japanese village. Two girls find a giant tree that houses a big and fluffy creature named Totoro who quickly becomes their friend; meanwhile, their mother is sick in the hospital and their father works hard to provide for them as a professor in a university.

The movie has no villains and no formulas; it combines visually dazzling hand-drawn animation with a mature and absorbing narrative. The details of daily life are lovingly captured and add to the fantasy elements that have a spiritual quality of their own. After more than 20 year, “My Neighbor Totoro” remains one of the best and most loved family films of all time (Totoro even makes a cameo on Pixar’s “Toy Story 3”) and a success on video and DVD (there’s no doubt that anime has found its success on the shelves of video stores since they hardly get released in theaters).

Miyazaki most recent adventure, the enchanting “Ponyo”, tells the story of a boy living with his mother on a house on the cliff by the sea. He meets a fish who wants to desperately become a girl so she can be with him. Just like “My Neighbor Totoro”, it’s a film where the realism of the community blends seamlessly with the whimsy and fantastical. When a child tells a grownup a story, they believe them and accept that magic is hidden beneath the mundane and that spirits live among them.

The themes of ecological conservation are essential in Miyazaki’s filmography. In the epic “Princess Mononoke” there’s a serious conflict between men’s industrialization and the ecosystem that has kept all creatures in a state of stability. This movie may be Miyazaki’s most radical since it deals with heavy subjects and features some fairly violent images. But as in all his works, it’s a film about tolerance and understanding. He is one of the few filmmakers who has never failed to provoke and create beautiful human parables. One can approach each one of his movies and discover worlds of happiness and personal growth. It may sound ridiculous but one could say they’re a better person by watching his movies.