We live in an age of images, but they often fail to reach their potential. In the middle ages you could write about God, but you couldn't show Him. Now we can show Him, but instead we settle for shallow reflections of our own desires. Watch MTV for a few minutes at any time, and you will see the degradation of the image that goes on every day. We are losing the ability to see beauty.
Spirited Away, (a title that is a miracle of Japanese to English translation, surely better than either language could do on its own) is a movie that reminds me of why I love movies, and why the image is the most powerful form of expression we have. Using animation, it creates a world impossible in real life, and stands as a testament to the wonderful and mysterious potential of human imagination. Almost surrealistic in its depictions, the film presents the fantastic so often it becomes almost a matter of course, though it never loses its magic. A train runs along the the expanse of the ocean, lights come on fitfully as darkness begins to fall, and wind creates waves in a field of grass. I can think of no other image in the film that can express the beauty of the whole than the emotional climax. Falling through the sky, the heroine's tears of happiness fall up. And why shouldn't they.
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