Review: Princess Mononoke (4K Digital Remaster / IMAX Laser)

Relive the Unparalleled Miyazaki Masterpiece in IMAX

Released in 1997, this masterpiece by director Hayao Miyazaki rewrote Japan’s box office history. Set in medieval Japan (the Ashikaga period), it depicts the fierce clash between Ashitaka, cursed by the Tatari God, Eboshi of the Tatara ironworks, and San, the Princess Mononoke. Seeing it again in IMAX after a quarter-century, I was once more astonished by its overwhelming “heat.” Why is this film so intensely rich? Discover the charm of this miraculous work, born during Director Miyazaki’s most prolific period!

■Synopsis

Medieval Japan. An Emishi village in the northeast is attacked by the Tatari God. Ashitaka, firing an arrow to protect the village, receives a death curse. To uncover the secret of the metal pellet embedded within the Tatari God, he leaves his village and embarks on a journey westward.

After a long journey, Ashitaka is invited as a guest to Lady Eboshi’s Tatara ironworks. The Tatara is a village dedicated to iron production, cutting down trees from the surrounding mountains for furnace fuel. This conflicts with the spirits dwelling in the forests, and the Tatari God that attacked the Emishi village was actually shot by Lady Eboshi herself.

Adjacent to the Tatara works lies the Forest of the Deer God, home to a mother and child Yamainu who protect the forest, and the Princess Mononoke who acts alongside them. Lady Eboshi and her people have fought them many times. The girl San, called Princess Mononoke, attacks the village seeking Lady Eboshi’s life. Though mortally wounded, Ashitaka saves her and heads with her towards the Forest of the Deer God. At the forest spring, Ashitaka’s wounds are healed, but…

■Thoughts & Review

Released in 1997, this feature-length animated film by Hayao Miyazaki became a massive hit that rewrote Japan’s box office records. Until then, a film grossing 1 billion yen was considered a huge success in Japan, but this movie achieved an unprecedented hit, surpassing 10 billion yen. This made it the biggest hit of the 20th century, regardless of whether it was a foreign or domestic film.

This marks my third time seeing this film on the big screen. The first was during its initial release at Toho’s screening room. The second was in 2000, watching the English dubbed version, again at Toho’s screening room. This is actually my first time seeing it in a regular theater, and since it’s on the massive IMAX screen — nothing like a screening room — the emotion of this reunion after a quarter-century is profound.

I believe much has already been said about this film, yet I was once again struck by the sheer intensity it radiates. While I consider myself to have seen most of Hayao Miyazaki’s feature films, none are as densely packed with substance as this one. Genre-wise, it is a full-fledged period drama, an adventure action film, a legendary mystery, and a romantic coming-of-age story. Its themes span nature versus humanity, society versus the individual, life and death, and more.

Director Miyazaki once stated something along the lines of, “If you can express a film’s theme in words, then use words. Make films for what cannot be put into words.” I believe this film was able to contain such a rich world and such profound themes precisely because it pursued the essence of “cinema” in its purest form.

While Director Miyazaki is credited for both the original story and screenplay, his process involves creating the story’s outline through image boards, then determining dialogue while animating characters through storyboards. The resulting script is thus different from the conventional filmmaking process that starts with a script. In Miyazaki’s works, images, movement, and dialogue are born as a seamless whole within the director.

When he made this film, Hayao Miyazaki was in his mid-50s, brimming with physical and creative energy. A Miyazaki work of this same intensity likely exists neither before nor after this one.

（Japanese Original Title: Mononoke Hime)

109 Cinemas Kiba (Theater 2 / IMAX)
Distributed by: Toho
1997 | 2 hours 13 minutes | Japan | Color
Official Website: https://www.ghibli.jp/works/mononoke/
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119698/