Ghibli and The Miyazaki Mystery
2005 · 53 MIN · IMDB 6.7 · 128 VOTES · DIR. Yves Montmayeur
Overview
Studio Ghibli is Japan's most successful animation studio, with helmers Hayao Miyazaki (""Spirited Away,"" ""My Neighbor Totoro"") and Isao Takahata (""Grave of The Fireflies,"" ""The Tale of Princess Kaguya"") creating a bonanza for producer/prexy Toshio Suzuki. Generously adorned with clips from their films and their influences, the docu follows Ghibli's arc from a mid-'60s rebellion against working conditions at Toei Co. to its present powerhouse position, complete with public fun park. All interviews are illuminating, but Miyazaki is teasingly confined to pic's tete-a-tete finale with esteemed French comic artist Jean ""Moebius"" Giraud. Meeting of the wizened European, whose imprint is on films from ""Blade Runner"" to ""The Fifth Element,"" and the apparently relaxed Nipponese helmer makes an interesting contrast, and will be of special interest to Francophiles. All credits are impeccable
Dialogue Timeline — 479 lines
A SAMPLE ACROSS THE RUNTIME — EVERY LINE IS SEARCHABLE
00:00:04 The western suburbs of Tokyo, about 15 miles from the city center.
00:03:09 "Spirited Away" takes place in a fantastic bath house.
00:05:52 Even as an adult I can't resist going inside.
00:08:01 It makes you want to explore the building from bottom to top.
00:10:04 We've also adapted Western concepts of partitioning space...
00:11:45 They have a good sense of how to use space creatively.
00:14:47 Every fork in the path seems to ask: which way to go?
00:19:01 You go through one gate after another, and the space keeps changing.
00:20:44 ...the maze made it easier to trap and defeat them.
00:22:42 I think Miyazaki's trip to Sweden was also his first visit to Europe.
00:25:35 The crowded neighborhoods of Genova influenced "Heidi" ...
00:27:19 Takahata was preparing to direct "From the Apennines to the Andes."
00:29:11 Sometimes the settings he created were so interesting...
00:32:47 Even today, the old apartment houses don't have elevators.
00:36:22 Many of Miyazaki's films are set in Europe.
00:40:58 CREATING DETAILS - FROM PART TO WHOLE
00:42:35 This gives you complex spaces.
00:45:35 I was wondering if this kind of story device...
00:47:50 Visitors to the museum also descend to the lowest level first.
00:49:37 ...and design individual spaces afterward.
00:51:19 The thing that impresses me about Miyazaki is his belief...
00:52:54 I'm talking about a palpable, physical quality.
00:55:18 First, the view from below.
00:58:36 This summer garden - this vibrant, waving grass - this is really Japan.