Wolf gods and boar gods try to prevent humans from cutting down forests and killing the Forest Spirit in a Hayao Miyazaki classic.
In the late Muromachi period in Japan, people have learnt to use firearms and cut down forests, and ancient spirits have been forgotten. The last Emishi prince, Ashitaka, kills Nago—a possessed boar god—but gets wounded in a fight and is now cursed. To lift the curse, he must go and find the source of evil that has corrupted Nago.
A captivating fantasy, Princess Mononoke is at the same time a meditation on the relationship between nature and technology, a fable about human greed and a story about living with disabilities. Drawing on Japanese folk culture and mythology, and cleverly weaving gender issues into the storyline, Hayao Miyazaki remains faithful to his ethics and presents a story with no absolute goodies or baddies, where evil has no single source but reveals itself in any act of hatred.
Princess Mononoke
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Japan, 1997. 134 min. 12+
