I love Spirited Away.
With Spirited Away Miyazaki touches all of your perceptive conscience, not the kind of accidental, 'oops-sorry-I-didnt-see-you-there' touching you do on a crowded BART train, but a full on deep tissue massage of you visual, auditory, creative, critical, and emotional reception channels that leaves you wanting no more and no less. It's bewildering how fiercely creative Miyazaki and all his writing and animation staff was with this work of art. With so much stimulation, it's no wonder that no matter how many times I've watched this, I discover something new about the film and what it is trying to show. Despite this being my 4th time with this film (1st time I really looked at anything beyond the spectacle) I still dont think I have a full grasp of it, and that's fine because it's as if Miyazaki meant for this film to be like one of those 'holographic images' that used to be popular in the 90's where you would see a different picture depending on which direction you were looking at it from.
This viewing I noticed that despite Chihiro's time in a fantasy world, she lives and deals with real world situations. For instance, her encounter with the no-face is a show of how childhood innocence can trump greed and coveting. Her unconditional kindness attracted the no-face, and her pure gratitude for his kind actions kept him there. Misunderstanding the nature of her kind-heartedness, the no-face begins to thrust material possessions unto Chihiro, who does not want any of it which bothers him to no end. Seeking the same kind of unconditional kindness, no-face goes on a binge, indulging himself in many a mortal vice, gluttony, greed, and covetousness with no reprieve from the emptiness inside (we see a great metaphor for many adults trying to fill the void with worldly pleasures). He only finally realizes what he is missing after throwing everything up, and stop filling himself with no the superficial, and start filling the void with real purpose.
This is just one of the many examples of real life analogues Chihiro encounters throughout the film, and it's truly remarkable how Miyazaki can fit so much so seamlessly in his work.
P.S. I can identify every single character in this picture now!
