The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2013)
[かぐや姫の物語]
Director: Isao Takahata
Starring:Aki Asakura, Kengo Kora, Takeo Chii
Synopsis:
A bamboo cutter discovers a mystical child that he and his wife raise to be the Princess he believes Heaven desires her to be, but this may not be as sure a path to the child's happiness as he thinks.
Impressions:
The last time we saw Isao Takahata in the director's chair at Studio Ghibli was back in '99 with My Neighbors the Yamadas. Much like his previous film, Princess Kaguya makes use of a sketchy sort of style which has an interesting effect. There is a lot of dynamism, especially in the scene where Kaguya runs away, throwing off the many layers of her kimono, which was shown in at least one of the trailers. This sort of expressionistic dynamism aside, the pacing is rather slow and deliberate, which can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your point of view. This story really wouldn't be served pacing like, say, Princess Mononoke (to use another Ghibli example), so it really boils down to how much you're invested in Kaguya as a character. While I considered myself to be fairly well invested, things nevertheless felt a bit on the slow side. As I said, I think it was entirely appropriate for this story, so perhaps you just need to go in with that in mind.
I found the look at Heian Era culture fascinating, though it must come off as fairly strange to the completely uninitiated. I can't speak for the quality of the English dub, but the original performances were quite good. Of course Joe Hisaishi never disappoints on the music front.
It feels strange with this being Takahata's final film, especially in light of Miyazaki's really for real this time retirement. As you may be aware, Studio Ghibli has put all production on hold for the moment and I honestly have no idea where things'll go from here. The Oscar nom may give the film and the studio a bit of a boost outside Japan, but if this is Ghibli's grand finale, I suppose I could accept that. At very least, Princess Kaguya is worth watching, but I'm pretty sure many of you agree with me that there's not a Ghibli film that doesn't have a place in the personal library.
Rating:
Own It