Spirited away.

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Animation

watching hayao miyazaki's films makes one feel like one is flipping back through the pages of one's favorite children's books. it's the art style - the big eyes, round faces and the muted pastel palette - which reminds one of old school japanese animation. in this case, "old school" doesn't mean wimpy or nostalgic or sanitized. hayao miyazaki could still kick the behinds of many modern animators anytime, and i'm pretty sure his name is still mentioned with much reverence among many animators.


and there is one word that one cannot fail to use when describing a hayao miyazaki movie: grand

it's a grandeur that few other films could accomplish; more than a grandeur of scope, but a grandeur of vision. seeing a hayao miyazaki film is like being transported in another world. george lucas or peter jackson couldn't even come close.

spirited away has all the qualities of a hayao miyazaki film: the beautiful art style, the cinematic grandeur, and the reluctant hero (in this case, the heroine) who found herself in the middle of something big, something she might not comprehend properly, but something she will bravely face anyways. in hayao miyaki's world, children show amazing courage and resilience. there are no real villains in his films, except perhaps ignorance and misunderstanding; every major character is given so much nuance, one would love them despite how scary or disagreeable they might seem initially.

it took me this long to be able to watch spirited away, but it was well worth the wait. a friend of mine was telling me miyazaki is working on yet another film. "what? i thought [spirited away] was his last film?" but, you know, i never really meant that. i'm looking forward to watching the old man's next film.

from sextonfurnival.livejournal.com.

Call Me, Call Me

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Music
Genre:	Soundtracks
Artist:	Yoko Kanno

Songs specifically written as part of a soundtrack are best heard within the context of film they mean to accompany. Not that they don't have less merit in themselves; it's just that they tend to make more sense that way.

I first heard Call Me, Call Me though a compilation of various Bebop tracks I obtained from a friend. I haven't watched an episode of Cowboy Bebop then; I only know that, based on reviews, the series is kickass and the soundtrack (from that music goddess, Yoko Kanno) is a work of genius.

Ask people who know the song what they think of Call Me, Call Me and they'd say it's one of the best songs in Bebop. And they're right: the song could work its way from your ears to your heart and fill you with passionate yearning. It starts with jangly guitar that brings images of American deserts. Then Steve Conte's voice comes in, gently settling into the sonic background. By the time the song reaches the refrain, you're hooked. Steve Conte sings of passionate yearning like it was no one else's business.

And then his voice starts soaring and you feel like you're suddenly taken a hundred feet into the air.

Halfway through the song, strings would suddenly join in and you will be taken by Ms. Kanno into an exhilarating sonic joyride. Layers and layers of sound assaulting you like a storm. And then slowly it ends, and you'll feel feel empty. It's like a roller-coaster slowly coming to a stop.

It took me a while before I saw the episode where the music was used to. And when I saw it, the song became something much more than just a song. It's perfection. It's the best accompaniment to a scene that brings in a surge of emotions. It's become the ship and the anchor that kept the tension rising, moving forward, and the story coherent. It's the song that will eventually make you cry. You will cry because it's so true.

You will cry because it's more than true.