Review of Spirited Away (2001) by Juliankleiss — 31 Jan 2011

A little girl called Chihiro falls into a surreal world, from which she tries to save her parents. At first most characters appear to be bad-tempered or even evil. Nevertheless, along the way they all turn out rather nice.

Therefore, none of the characters are categorizable into the typical archetypes of good or bad. This "realness" of the characters' personalities, however, makes the movie's storytelling very unusual to the habits and expectations of us western moviegoers.

Moreover, one might miss a sense of having learned a lesson over the course of the film, for the parents do not rethink their piggishness, and Chihiro, despite many experiences and therefore many opportunities, does not appear to have grown much out from her childish vulnerability and dependence either.

For these reasons, and despite its vivid imagination, Spirited Away (has great potential, but) might not satisfy everyone. However, the viewer might learn a lesson of freeing oneself from expectations and opening up for the unconventional.