# Mononoke Hime (1997)

### reviewed by
Steve Rhodes

    THE PRINCESS MONONOKE
    A film review by Steve Rhodes
    Copyright 1999 Steve Rhodes
    RATING (0 TO ****):  ****

THE PRINCESS MONONOKE, an absolutely breathtaking motion picture, could as easily be shown in an art museum as a theater. With stunning images like a Paul Gauguin painting and with a great mythic story of the type that Richard Wagner would have loved to use for an opera, the movie leaves you grasping without much luck for adequate words to describe it.

Although this has been a strong year for ground-breaking animation with the release of THE IRON GIANT and TARZAN, nothing that has come before it is in the same league as THE PRINCESS MONONOKE, an animated film, written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Although teenagers and possibly quite-mature preteens will enjoy it, the movie is aimed at adult audiences. For the American version Miramax is releasing an extremely well done dubbed version with an English script by Neil Gaiman and with voices by named stars (Billy Crudup, Billy Bob Thornton, Minnie Driver, John Di Maggio, Claire Danes, Jada Pinkett-Smith and Gillian Anderson, among others).

One of only two films released in the Japanese market to ever make over $150,000,000 (in a country with one tenth the number of screens as the U.S.), THE PRINCESS MONONOKE beat out TITANIC for the all-time number one spot in Japan.

The story, loosely based on Japanese folklore, features two valiant youths, Prince Ashitaka (Crudup, last seen marvelously as Steve Prefontaine in WITHOUT LIMITS) and Princess Mononoke (Danes), who fight an epic battle for the forces of good. The complex but enthralling story is well summarized in the press notes as being "a war between encroaching civilization and the beast gods of the forest which threatens to unbalance the forces of nature."

Generally, environmentalism, however laudable, makes for lifeless and pedantic stories (the lame JETSONS: THE MOVIE being one example). Here, however, the writer imbues the story with such vast portent that it keeps you on the edge of your seat. The central characters are so empathetically written and drawn that you find yourself caring about them passionately.

In the opening sequence, a beast comes charging out of the forest. When we first see it, it appears to be an almost formless mass of swirling, flying maggots. A brave warrior, Prince Ashitaka, kills the beast, which turns out to be a wild boar the size of a house. During the battle, the boar bites the prince's arm, which means that he will soon become a beast himself and die. (There is, of course, an "unless.")

As he journeys far from his home to discover the evil that infected the boar, he meets Princess Mononoke, a wild girl who was raised by a barn-sized wolf. When he first sees her, she has just sucked the blood out of the wound of her injured wolf-mother. After spitting the blood on the ground, the princess, with her face covered in blood, looks at the prince with a haunting mixture of power and innocence.

Although they will ultimately band together, she is initially suspicious and wary of the stranger in her midst. The troubled and nuanced expressions on their faces throughout the story suggests part of their pain and suffering as well as their dedication and courage.

Minnie Driver, playing against type, is the nefarious Lady Eboshi, in some ways the leader of the forces of evil and in other ways a benevolent protector of the downtrodden. The complicated tale suggests two sides to most issues.

In a serious drama, Billy Bob Thornton, as a good-old-boy warrior named Jigo, provides most of the humor with his deliciously cornball aphorisms. ("When you're goin' to kill a god, let someone else do your dirty work." and "Everybody wants everything. That's the way the world is, but I might actually get it.")

The drawings literally burst with imagination. Among the best of these is the luminescent figure known after dark as the Night Walker. During the day he is transformed into a playful-looking little creature known as the Forest Spirit, something like a cross between a deer and a gnome.

The mesmerizing film is such a moving and rewarding experience that you should not be surprised if you break out into loud applause at the end. Right after talking, the first cardinal sin during a closed press screening, the second sin is applauding. Knowing full well that it was a major faux pas, I couldn't help myself at ours. Applauding loudly, I, at least, was able to restrain myself from shouting "Bravo!" as well. I wanted to.

THE PRINCESS MONONOKE runs 2:14, but there's nothing I would cut. The movie is rated PG-13 for images of violence and gore. It would be fine for teenagers, but those 11 or 12 will need to be able to handle the gore to be able to see it.

Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com

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