Hayao Miyazaki’s animated masterpiece is part of exciting month-long tribute to Studio Ghibli at IFC Center
SPIRITED AWAY (SEN TO CHIHIRO NO KAMIKAKUSHI) (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001)
IFC Center
323 Sixth Ave. at West Third St.
December 17 – January 11
212-924-7771
www.ifccenter.com
www.nausicaa.net
Prepare to have your spirits lifted up and away in this sensational animated feature from Japanese master Hayao Miyazaki. Ten-year-old Chihiro is unhappy about moving to a new home despite her parents’ best efforts to convince her otherwise. When her father takes a wrong turn on the road, the family ends up in an oddly deserted village that Chihiro soon finds out is a lot more than it seems. Chihiro’s adventures through this dreamlike, surreal, magical place filled with bizarre characters and evil beings are unforgettable, with nuances and references from such diverse works as The Wizard Of Oz and The Seventh Seal. The sheer visual beauty of the animation is staggering; many of the backgrounds are reminiscent of Impressionism. Joe Hisaishi’s maudlin music is way overpraised, as usual, but this Japanese box-office champ deservedly won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival and was named Best Asian Film at the Hong Kong Film Awards. As with the best animated films, you don’t have to be a kid to fall in love with Spirited Away, which is screening in a new 35mm print December 17 to January 11 as part of the series “Castles in the Sky: Miyazaki, Takahata & the Masters of Studio Ghibli,” a dual presentation of the IFC Center and GKIDS’ New York International Children’s Film Festival. The dubbed version, featuring the voices of Daveigh Chase (Chihiro), Jason Marsden (Haku), Susan Egan (Lin), Michael Chiklis (Chihiro’s father), Lauren Holly (Chihiro’s mother), Suzanne Pleshette (Yubaba and Zeniba), John Ratzenberger (assistant manager), David Ogden Stiers (Kamaji), and Tara Strong (baby Boh), will be shown at all morning and afternoon screenings; the original Japanese version with English subtitles will be shown 6:00 and later.
The series also includes such other Miyazaki works as Howl’s Moving Castle, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Ponyo, My Neighbor Totoro, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Porco Rosso, Princess Mononoke, and Laputa: Castle in the Sky in addition to such lesser-known Studio Ghibli films as Hiroyuki Morita’s The Cat Returns, Tomomi Mochizuki’s Ocean Waves, Isao Takahata’s Only Yesterday, and Yoshifumi Kondo’s Whisper of the Heart, all being screened in new 35mm prints.