Cinema
Princess Mononoke
もののけ姫
Hayao Miyazaki · 1997
Synopsis
In Japan in the Muromachi period, Ashitaka, last prince of a northern people, kills a boar god turned demon to protect his village. The curse spreads to his arm and will eventually kill him if he finds no remedy, according to the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction; he sets off westward. He discovers an ironworks town that clears the forest to extract iron, led by Lady Eboshi, who takes in former prostitutes and lepers there, and San, a young girl raised by the wolf goddess Moro, who wants Eboshi dead.
Context
The film required about one hundred and forty-four thousand cels, nearly eighty thousand of which were drawn or retouched by its author. Its budget, of around 2.35 billion yen, made it the most expensive Japanese animated film of its time. Released on 12 July 1997 by Tōhō, it drew more than 14 million viewers in Japan (13.5 million according to Nausicaa.net), and became the country's biggest success to that date. The overseas distribution contract forbade shortening it.
Who it is for
More than two hours of animation, more violent than usual for its director, about a war between a forest and those who cut it down.
Prizes and reception
Film of the year for the Japan Academy Film Prize in 1998, it drew more than three hundred thousand spectators in France in six weeks.
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