Although the chances of winning the crown are slim, this shortlist is already the highest praise for this 80-year-old man this year. And with his age and his attitude toward perfection, this may be his last brilliance.
At a time when the whole world is busy upgrading animation to 3D, Ghibli sticking to the hand-drawn style seems so out of place, and Takahata is the most out of place in this group of out of place people. It is a bit mean to say that "Miyazaki is responsible for making money, and Takahata is responsible for losing money", but his stories always carry too many suffocating themes, and he is even unwilling to be like Miyazaki, who is not so The outer layer of relaxed thoughts is wrapped in a seemingly sweet coat, leaving a place for emotional catharsis, but often inadvertently defeats your beautiful imagination of cartoons. In "Grave of the Fireflies", the cruelty of war rises in the innocent eyes of children. In "Variety of Civet Cats", the pain of losing one's home is intensified by the incompatibility of incarnation, even in the sweet-looking "Fairy Tales of the Years" and "Fairy Tale of the Years". The Neighbor's Yamada-kun", there is always a hint of helplessness and loss, shrouded in laughter and warmth.
After the box office fiasco of "The Neighbor's Yamada-kun" in 1999, Isao Takahata sharpened his sword in fifteen years and handed over the answer sheet of "The Story of Kaguya Princess" at the most expensive cost in the history of Japanese animation. It is still the tone of a miserable life, and even the style of painting in the upper works that has been proven unacceptable to the market. I think that without big data or actuarial analysis, anyone who is a little sensible will understand that this is destined to be a movie with a better reputation than the box office. But Isao Takahata did it without hesitation, and whether it was Toshio Suzuki or Hayao Miyazaki, they all gave the greatest support.
Hehe, in this society above business, Ghibli's iron triangle is all so "out of place", no wonder it is difficult and unsustainable.
When "The Story of Kaguya Princess" was released, Hayao Miyazaki's first comment after watching it in the theater turned out to be "This kind of movie doesn't look like it at all!". But then he returned to the lounge, but added: "This work represents the future of Japanese animation."
This seemingly contradictory preamble actually reflects the difference in the artistic concept of Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata. If there is one word to sum up Hayao Miyazaki, I can't think of a more appropriate word than "childlike innocence". He has always been reluctant to make sharp disclosures of the evils of human nature and society in his works. Even in the cruel reclusive work "The Wind Rises", he has to use dreamlike lenses and falsehoods. The true narrative is concealed. However, Takahata Xun always puts the characters in the pen under the double extremes of the external environment and the inner world, and digs deeply into the less beautiful things. The characters in the play are out of tune with the surrounding, a depth of theme beyond animation, let him His works entered the threshold of "art". If the story of Hayao Miyazaki is like the fairy tale of the Brothers Grimm, even if it is a little dark and a little treacherous, in the end, the prince and princess always live happily together. So Takahata is like Andersen, who taught children early, this world is not as beautiful as you think.
Of course, Hayao Miyazaki's derogatory remarks when he first saw this film may have come from his incomprehension of Isao Takahata's insistence on this style of painting. Ghibli has always been known for his meticulous painting style. Almost every frame and scene can be directly screenshotted as a computer desktop. Although Takahata's early works are slightly different in style, they are still within this overall framework. However, since "Yamada-kun of the Household", Takahata has tried to use a "line drawing" method to paint, supplemented by watercolor painting, and a large number of "white space" techniques in Chinese painting are used to create a unique style. animation, and sparked a polarizing word of mouth.
"The Tale of Kaguya Princess" brings Takahata Isao's aesthetic concept to the extreme. He has completely abandoned the angular cartoon approach and returned to the quaint, rounded brushstrokes. In many scenes, he even tried to paint with brushes and charcoal brushes, and used the smudge method to color them. When the characters and scenes moved, he kept the original traces of hand-painting. This visual expression that is not smooth and modern enough, but it brings the picture to the picture. It has an elegant and delicate, simple and agile feeling, which is reminiscent of Ukiyo-e in the Edo period, and it is not difficult to see the shadow of Chinese ink and wash landscape painting. Even in the few minutes when Kaguya's anger broke out, the whole picture was abstract and rough, and the background was blurred and chaotic, like Zhang Xu's rashness and madness, and like Picasso's infinite meaning.
But in this "face-seeing" world, a princess who can't visually feel her "unbelievably beautiful" can really resonate? I think the local box office, which is less than half the cost in the end, has already given the answer. It is true that Takahata Isao has evolved from an animator to an "artist", but the sad part is that art is always high and low.
In fact, it is not entirely true to say that Takahata Hsun has no box office ambitions at all. At least, he no longer uses the fragmented plot that was criticized by people in his previous work, but tells a complete story of succession and transformation. Moreover, this story was originally born out of Japan's well-known myth or fairy tale "The Tale of Bamboo Tori".
Although the protagonists are similar, Takahata Isao will never repeat Disney-style princess stories, and his Princess Kaguya is full of serious literature.
First of all, the princess is the body of guilt who has been demoted to the mortal world, which makes the characters have a kind of original sin in the religious sense. What is her guilt? The movie does not give a clear answer, but it uses the experience of another immortal in the moon (Wonderland) to tell us that the sin of immortals who do not eat the fireworks of the human world is greed for the human world.
In Oriental legends, there are many such stories. Cowherd, Dong Yong, Liu Hai, these peasants who have neither power, power, talent nor appearance, are often favored by fairies, and they are devoted to each other and loyal. A great piece of love.
Unlike these princesses, Kaguya came to the world as a child. She has experienced growth, she has experienced poverty, but she has also experienced happiness that is not brought about by material things. She has a childhood sweetheart and a happy childhood, but she also understands what real happiness is in this world.
Therefore, she will not be like an ordinary rich woman who regards the life bound like a caged bird as happiness, nor will she be happy for the illusory material wealth. Although she forgot her identity as a fairy, she did not forget the true nature of being a human being. In order to make her father happy, she accepted the life she didn't want step by step until her righteousness was no longer humiliated, and everything in the world became an old dream after all.
Until the end, I was expecting that Takahata-san would leave the ending with a bright twist. But I am disappointed. The princess still forgot the past, leaving behind a cold face and terrified mortals. The tears of the parents cannot be held back, nor can the love of the first love be changed. Kaguya's ascension to the sky is a return, so isn't it a metaphor for death? She struggled, tangled, unwilling, but also helpless, fearful, and hesitant. Memories of the happy past and the cold frost of the Moon Palace reflect her attachment to the mortal world, while the vulnerable guards represent the irreversibility of fate.
I often hate directors who make the story cruel to the end when watching movies, because it makes me feel a suffocating pain as an audience. But many times, we have to admit that only such vast tragedies can shake our numb hearts and awaken our souls in trembling.
In fact, there are a lot of details in the movie that deserve to be tasted. Such as the role of Kaguya's father, who both deeply loves his daughter and destroys her with one hand, this contradiction highlights the perverseness of fate and the subtlety of human nature, and it also teaches all parents a lesson. Another example is the pursuit of the princess by the five nobles and the emperor, is it an accusation of women's elegy in a patriarchal society, or a ruthless mockery of false love between men and women? If you think about it from any angle, you can discover the master's handwriting.
There are many film directors who maintain their creative enthusiasm into their later years, but for animated films that consume much energy and physical strength than ordinary films, eighty years old is really too old. Although I look forward to continuing to see the works of Master Takahata Isao, I am also very clear in my heart how difficult this is already. Whether it's Hayao Miyazaki or Isao Takahata, please cherish the works of these outdated old guys, because maybe it's time to say goodbye to them soon.
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