Director Hayao Miyazaki has been one of the driving creative forces in turning Studio Ghibli into the biggest Japanese Animation outfit in the world as well as making it one of the top 5 animation outfits in the world, both in creative and box-office terms. Miyazaki is responsible for a number of the studio’s greatest hits including Spirited Away (2001), Howl’s Moving Castle (2004), Castle in the Sky (1986) and Ponyo (2008).

With Princess Mononoke (1997), Miyazaki gives a folksy fantasy vibe to the film, which abounds with forests, spirits, gods and animals. Oftentimes a combination of one or more of them at the same time. The story follows young Ashitaka, who goes on a journey in attempt to cure a vicious bite he receives from a pig demon in the opening scene of the film. This journey brings him into contact with a range of beings, from the titular Mononoke, to gods and demons in a range of animal forms, to a highly sophisticated mining operation that is destroying the environment around it. Young Ashitaka is an incredibly complex character with conflicts and nuance raging inside him, that the filmmakers do well to present to the audience.

Like all of the other Studio Ghibli films I have seen (admittedly not a whole lot), Princess Mononoke looks stunning. Especially impressive are the forest backgrounds and settings that a vast majority of action takes place in front of. They are beautifully detailed, not always going for spot-on realism, but always creatively interpreting these amazing places. The animation is not entirely perfect, perhaps slightly showing its age. Some of the movements of the animals are a little clunky for example. I believe that this was the first Ghibli film to incorporate computerised animation for some of the work, so there may be some teething problems in that regard. But to be honest, to even complain about these slight imperfections in the look of the film really is nitpicking because the design and execution of the vast majority of the animation is brilliant. The soaring, orchestral soundtrack is brilliant throughout, enhancing the fantastical feel to the film as well as the emotions of the characters inhabiting it.

The core thematic concerns of the film are still stunningly relevant today, 15 years after the release of the film. Actually they are probably more pertinent today then they were when the film was released. Chief amongst them is ecological degradation. An early scene sees the demon pig god go on a destructive rampage through pristine forests. The exploitation of the environment by mining, definitely a hot-button issue here in Australia at the moment, is also examined with much of the action taking place in and around an iron mine. These scenes see huge swathes of forestland being culled in order to mine the iron. This pillage of the earth is what leads to the boar god’s rampage through the forest that opens the film. Indeed, the chief miner Lady Eboshi is really just representative of all that is wrong with the world. She exploits those less fortunate and is developing super dangerous high powered weaponry which will bring widespread warfare to the land. The film is not just about destruction of the environment, but more a comment on the breakdown in the relationship between humanity and the environment that it exists in (including our relationship with non-human animals). Where there was once respect and co-existence, now there is merely exploitation and pillage. But the film also pokes fun at the notion that people must take up one side of an ideological debate on the environment, rather suggesting that the true path is rarely black and white.

It was interesting that this film reminded me of plenty of others. The early parts of Ashitaka’s journey had a vibe similar to that of the Lord of the Rings films. I also felt that in parts, the act of watching and enjoying the film was similar to the way in which one enjoys Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life (2011). It is best to just let the film wash over you, taking it in, without being preoccupied by the detail of plot and character at all times. Princess Mononoke is a grand animated fantasy epic, full of dense animal based mythology that reveals its charms beautifully. It is an intricate film, full of friendship and a wonderful mix of very human and more spiritual explorations. Whilst occasionally slow, is rarely short of totally engaging.

Verdict: Pint of Kilkenny

Progress: 67/1001

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“This story takes place on a quiet summer’s night, in a very small country, wishing to be as small as possible, almost to the point of non-existence. This wish is to be expected. Thus, all events, situations, characters, settings and lines in this film are made up. Nothing is the way it is depicted. But any possible resemblance to reality is not coincidental.” – Voiceover that opens the film.

After Bergman’s return to form (at least from my perspective) with his last film, it was with renewed anticipation that I popped This Can’t Happen Here (1950) into the DVD player. The delightfully self-knowing intro above is what I was greeted with, kicking off a very different Bergman journey.

Whereas most of Bergman’s early films are essentially small love stories with societal concerns. This Can’t Happen Here is a post-war spy thriller. Playing like a combination of The Third Man (1949) and some of Hitchcock’s early spy films, this is a rollicking watch which shows the range of the young director. It’s all classic spy thriller stuff – shadows, close-ups, possible double agents, women with questionable motives and much more. It is incredible how before their time the themes and narrative plot points of the film are. The threat of World War III is hanging in the atmosphere, which is also clouded heavily with anti-refugee sentiment.

The challenge with any thriller or mystery film is to strike the balance between revealing parts of the story and maintaining an area of mystery. Reveal too much and the whole thing does not really feel worth your while. Hold too much back and it just turns into an exceedingly frustrating experience. Thankfully, the script of this film gets that balance right, feeding the audience little tidbits of info – a spy trying to sell secrets to the American embassy, an early murder, hate mail sent to refugees – but takes its time to connect all the dots and reveal what it all means. Throughout, Bergman proves himself very adept at shooting high tension. Backed by the script which is a very good thriller one featuring a bevy of spies and cops with some almost Hitchcockian tension as well. An early murder is shot slow, and is almost unbearably tense as it is totally unclear to the audience what is about to eventuate. The main plot concerns a lost list of spies and plans for future spy operations, as well as the people connected with these documents. There are love stories, betrayal and action galore too.

Whilst no doubt belonging firmly in the thriller genre, there is a definite noir sensibility about the film. The iconography is there – sun shining through blinds, the hats that the men wear and lots more – but so is some of the attitude of noir. The film is also quite modern. I have already mentioned some of the themes present that remain pertinent to this day. Some of the torture scenes as well are reminiscent of more recent screen outings such as recent Bond films. As well as that, the motivations of the characters are complex and change throughout the film. Plus there’s a car chase. That’s right, an Ingmar Bergman directed car chase. I’m not going to lie, it’s not a particularly good car chase, but it still obviously has to be seen.

It is just so great to see such a marked departure from everything that Bergman has done previously, especially as it is so well executed. Who would have thought that Bergman would pull out an incredible mix of classic spy films, Hitchcock and even James Bond; but he does so in this rollicking, enjoyable, satisfying and dare I say it populist ride which is a definite product of its time.

Verdict: Pint of Kilkenny

‘The Bergman Files’ Leaderboard

1. It Rains on our Love (1946)
2. This Can’s Happen Here (1950)
3. To Joy (1950)
4. Crisis (1946)
5. Port of Call (1948)
6. Music in Darkness (1948)
7. A Ship Bound for India (1947)
8. Prison (1949)
9. Thirst (1949)

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Mission Dossier: Octopussy

The Year: 1983
The Director: John Glen
The Bond: Roger Moore
The Girl: Maud Adams as Octopussy
The Baddie: The above, along with Kamal Khan and an insane Russian General
The Scene

Cup of tea time of course.

Octopussy, surely the most absurdly named of all the Bond films, joins a number of the other Roger Moore efforts in being really quite enjoyable, though not spectacularly so.

The enjoyment factor and sense of fun that was so utterly lacking in For Your Eyes Only is thankfully reinstated in this one. This much is obvious from the prologue which sees Bond escape in small plane that he manages to fly through a hangar in a very impressive looking scene.  The film generally concerns diamond smuggling, with a lot of the action taking place in India which is a nice change of scenery for the series. It does eventually expand to include a rogue Russian military official and a nuclear bomb threat. What is nice is that the shift between the two is really easy to follow, avoiding the confusion that a number of Bond plots do bring about. The culmination of all this is broken into two. An excellent, tense bomb defusal sequence followed by a horrid final showdown featuring circus performance. Groan. Though in a major defence of the scene, it does awesomely feature Q piloting a hot air balloon.

Whilst the film is really quite enjoyable, it is hurt by some of the sillier efforts such as the finale mentioned above. Chief amongst these crimes is Bond approaching Octopussy’s castle inside a fake crocodile. Other questionable moments see some truly hideous tennis jokes deployed, a horrible homage to Tarzan, Bond in a gorilla suit, Bond in a clown suit… I could go on. One gripe I really do have with the series overall, which rears its head in this film, is a tendency to have the same actor play different roles in different films. I just think it is totally unnecessary given the number of really good performers out there and it just confuses things. Especially when watching a lot of the flicks close together. Here Maud Adams plays Octopussy, but she also featured in The Man with the Golden Gun. Take nothing away from Adams though, because her performance in this film is really slick and believable. It is a good character too, with a fair bit of depth for a female in a Bond film. She is the head honcho of a smuggling organisation who tries to recruit Bond and has some interesting ambiguity about where her true loyalties and morals lie.  The other main villain of the piece, Kamal Khan played by Louis Jourdan, is also delivered by a really good, menacing performance and the multiple villains in the film interact well throughout the narrative.

There is a lot of fun to be had with Octopussy. There are horrid, cringeworthy moments aplenty, but they do not derail what is a good, easy to follow spy story brought to life by some nice performances from most involved.

Verdict: Stubby of Reschs

Bondfest Leaderboard

1. Thunderball (1965)
2. Goldfinger (1964)
3. Moonraker (1979)
4. Dr No (1962)
5. From Russia with Love (1963)
6. Octopussy (1983)
7. The Spy who Loved Me (1977)
8. The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
9. Live and Let Die (1973)
10. Diamonds are Forever (1971)
11. You Only Live Twice (1967)
12. For Your Eyes Only (1981)
13. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)

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