Porco Rosso

I'm just gonna jump right in here. So even though this film seems like it's supposed to present Gina as the main interest for Marco, I think she is the main thing that maintains Marco's pig face. He is going through survivor's guilt due to his experiences in the war with losing his friends and seeing all the planes ascending to heaven with him in the middle ground. He is scarred. He likes Gina and was the best man at her wedding! But two days later her husband dies and there is nothing that Marco can do but go back down there to face reality. At this point Gina really likes Marco but he feels so undeserving of any love or openness and that manifests itself in his pig face. He feels dirty, yet his morality is so strong that he can't even shoot at Curtiss's plane if it's not the engine. He walks a jagged line. Yet Fio is the one who can really unpack his emotional baggage!
She asks him about his past and makes it come out. She gives him the affection that he can not ask for. As she opens up Marco's emotions she gets a glimpse into his real face and eventually unmasks him completely!
This seems like a strange film for Miyazaki to have done in a way. Mostly just because it's really uncharacteristic. It doesn't deal with the nature/technology tension, nor does it focus on independent children, specifically girls. Fio is more of a sidekick/secondary character to Marco. This time we see an emotionally crippled man in the spotlight. Also, Humphrey Bogart references..? And specifically in 1929 Italy. And directly dialoguing with fascism. Again.. why? I don't know. But to focus on a pilot makes sense because Miyazaki probably wanted an outlet for his more than interest in planes and aviation to flourish. All of his films have been pretty much leading up to directly dealing with planes.

Kiki's Delivery Service

Right.. Kiki's Delivery Service. Not an original Miyazaki story. This film was adapted from a chapter book of different adventures + some connections and twists by Miyazaki. What does this movie talk about that hasn't been said before in Miyazaki's films? I'm not sure. Kiki, from the beginning is pretty flustered by her new move to Koriko and not knowing anybody and still being pretty adolescent. Her growing stress and insecurity causes her to lose her magical abilities. So of course as she opens up her heart to the boy that wants to get to know her, Tombo, and an artist that helped her previously, Ursula, she gains her powers back. Tombo brings up Kiki's insecurities about meeting new people and feeling like she's given proper attention in light of Tombo's friends being around him. Ursula teaches her that sometimes people get thrown off, but that doesn't mean the magic isn't there. The magic is always inside of waiting to be connected to.

This story goes back to what we were talking about with Totoro and the cinema of assurance/de-assurance. This film is sooo assuring. I never thought for a moment that there wasn't going to be a happy ending. The overall feeling is pretty light, there is no hint at anything ominous. Yeah, Kiki loses her powers and can't do her job and can't talk to her cat friend, Jiji, but as a viewer it is pretty apparent that everything will be fine. Even when the news reporters are covering the blimp losing air with Tombo hanging on to a rope for his life the news reporters are not that bleak. Bertha even thinks it's exciting.

I don't feel like I really got much out of this film except for maybe a point about magic related to Kiki and Ursula. Ursula kind of represents a form of non-obvious magic, the magic of artistic creation and the ability for humans to create so well. The force that is driving that creativity, Ursula relates to Kiki's magic. I find that a pretty interesting point. What are the magical things around us today?

My Neighbor Totoro

The first time I saw My Neighbor Totoro I didn't really see anything particularly deep in it. I didn't really feel like that many questions came up for me. But the second time I saw it (in this class) I started taking in a bunch of different messages- especially after Thursday's class.
The thing that I find particularly interesting in this film is the role of magic. Is it real? Is it the imagination of the children? Yes, the father and Nanny acknowledge the presence of magic, but don't actually see it themselves. Nanny says that she used to see it when she was a younger, but not anymore. So the Satsuki and Mei are the only ones who see the magic. Are the adults recognizing that there is magic because they want the kids to feel comfortable exploring their imagination or because they know that the magic is real but that they just can't see it?
Miyazaki definitely does not give a straightforward answer to these questions- other than giving many connections between the everyday and the magical worlds. For example the wind shakes the house and quiets when the soot-spreaders leave, takes Satsuki's sticks and blows them up to Totoro's tree (where he sits and plays the ocarina) as if he wants her to look. The wind wakes the kids up to the Totoros making the trees grow. Also, when the cat bus blows things around that adult people see, but they don't see the source of the wind. Does Miyazaki think the wind is magical sourceless force? It's a sort of given force that has no visible origin. In non-Miyazaki film world the wind seems magical from that standpoint.
Magic is real for those who see it.
One thing that we didn't talk about in class that I find particularly interesting is when the Totoros and the kids are growing the trees and the trees all of a sudden start growing really fast. We see the trees rising up above the house in a shape not unlike that of a mushroom cloud. What does that mean to make growing trees look like a mushroom cloud in a film that takes place in post-war Japan? The only thing that I can think of is that the growing trees is a sign of Totoro's power as a forest spirit (which is kind of indicative for the greater power of the Earth). Also, that Totoro is a powerful character (for the "good") in the film because he can pretty much solve any problem. He is a stand in for the parents and he even helps Satsuki find Mei and get the corn to the mother- all with the metaphorical snap of his fingers.