The Tale of the Princess Kaguya is the latest and apparently, last film from legendary anime director, Isao Takahata, as he has announced this retirement this year. As expected from the creator of Grave of the Fireflies, it is an utterly unique and heart-warming masterpiece. Entirely hand-drawn, despite an impressive 137 minutes length, the film resembles a color-infused, naive literati painting come to life. And life is one of the many things this gem has in abundance, realistically dealing with issues such inadaptability, the desire to belong and finding one's place in the world. None of these clutter the film, however, as they are treated with maturity and infinite care, while sprinkled throughout a marvelously-crafted fantasy tale that can be followed and taken at face value.
The film is based on the Japanase folk tale, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. The adaptation is fairly loyal and the liberties taken are not at all gratuitous and creative, serving and expanding a pre-existing cultural monument. The story is beautifully-told here, the animation shifting and changing contours and colors with the characters' moods and emotions, generating a seamless continuum that makes the film feel editing-free.
Work of the famed Studio Ghibli, the animation is characterized by delicate lines that twist and merge flawlessly and expressive faces that capture the entire spectrum of human emotion. No detail is left out. Smiles reach eyes that glitter in reaction. Not one hair flowing in the wind is out of place. This perfection, however, is not cold or unnatural, but used in service of characterization and narration. The colors are muted, pale, sometimes vanishing almost entirely to make room for a mass of dark, angry lines accurately reflecting the heroine's state of being with only an item of her clothing representing a spec of color.
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya never feels two-dimensional, nor does it need the gimmick of 3D to leap off screen. Its style of drawing may seem simple but it's never simplistic. It's too lively for that, flowing effortlessly into a never-faltering unity of dialogue, story and animation. It also never feels forced, despite the obvious painstaking drawing involved, the freshness of the water color saving it from the visibility of the effort put into it. Every now and then the delicate and non-intrusive music of Joe Hisaishi, long-time Hayao Miyazaki collaborator, seeps into scenes, as if attentive not to disturb the sublime harmony of the film.
Despite its underlining serious themes and its psychological vision of fantasy, the film is sweet and innocent, too. It is one to take the children to, but also the art-loving adult in you as well as your inner child. It is a film for everyone not talking down to its younger audiences or insulting the intelligence of the adults.
My assessment: masterpiece
Details according to imdb.com:
Director: Isao Takahata
Written by: Isao Takahata & Riko Sakaguchi
Animation: Shôgo Furuya
The film is based on the Japanase folk tale, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. The adaptation is fairly loyal and the liberties taken are not at all gratuitous and creative, serving and expanding a pre-existing cultural monument. The story is beautifully-told here, the animation shifting and changing contours and colors with the characters' moods and emotions, generating a seamless continuum that makes the film feel editing-free.
Work of the famed Studio Ghibli, the animation is characterized by delicate lines that twist and merge flawlessly and expressive faces that capture the entire spectrum of human emotion. No detail is left out. Smiles reach eyes that glitter in reaction. Not one hair flowing in the wind is out of place. This perfection, however, is not cold or unnatural, but used in service of characterization and narration. The colors are muted, pale, sometimes vanishing almost entirely to make room for a mass of dark, angry lines accurately reflecting the heroine's state of being with only an item of her clothing representing a spec of color.
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya never feels two-dimensional, nor does it need the gimmick of 3D to leap off screen. Its style of drawing may seem simple but it's never simplistic. It's too lively for that, flowing effortlessly into a never-faltering unity of dialogue, story and animation. It also never feels forced, despite the obvious painstaking drawing involved, the freshness of the water color saving it from the visibility of the effort put into it. Every now and then the delicate and non-intrusive music of Joe Hisaishi, long-time Hayao Miyazaki collaborator, seeps into scenes, as if attentive not to disturb the sublime harmony of the film.
Despite its underlining serious themes and its psychological vision of fantasy, the film is sweet and innocent, too. It is one to take the children to, but also the art-loving adult in you as well as your inner child. It is a film for everyone not talking down to its younger audiences or insulting the intelligence of the adults.
My assessment: masterpiece
Details according to imdb.com:
Director: Isao Takahata
Written by: Isao Takahata & Riko Sakaguchi
Animation: Shôgo Furuya