Spirited Away | 100 Movies Bucket List

 

I watched this immediately after watching Reservoir Dogs, which might tell you a bit about my state of mind when I started this!

I knew nothing about this film before watching it. I have heard of Studio Ghibli, but not enough to have seen any of the movies. In fact, this is probably the first anime movie I've watched.

My feelings on the movie changed throughout - I loved the animation, the vibrancy, how beautiful everything was, but it took me a while to get the story.

In fact, I ended up googling the hidden meanings of the overall message and that really helped me to connect with some of the characters. Because the beginning of the film had me feeling a bit lost, and it took me a while to get into.

But once I actually got into it, and especially once it was over, I understood how beautiful the story was. 

So even though it wasn't entirely for me, I completely understand why it is loved, and why it is considered a classic. The storytelling is great, but the meaning behind everything that happens, and the way the film is used as an allegory for navigating the shift between childhood and adulthood (or just growing up in general) was really beautiful.

This probably won't be everyone's cup of tea, but even though it didn't start off as mine, I definitely found the beauty in it.