Review: An incredibly powerful and human documentary about a great artist.
Hayao Miyazaki is in my mind and the minds of many of my film buff friends, one of the greatest (if not the greatest) living filmmakers. He is truly an incredible artist and his art has touched so many (myself included). What we often forget about great artists is that behind all their great work lies a human being. A human being gets old, is afraid of being old, struggles with self doubt and doesn't always have an easy time with something new. This is what makes this movie so incredible, it is not just a document of the making of a film, but a beautiful portrait of human struggles and how we overcome them. Miyazaki worries that he is getting too old for this job, and worries that he can't be the great artist he was in his younger days. He fears if he goes back into filmmaking, he may make something he would be ashamed of. However there is still a passion for filmmaking in him and this cannot be denied. It keeps pushing him to do something new. When he goes back to filmmaking he struggles with doubt about whether this is a good idea or not. Still we have seen in early scenes he was miserable and bored being retired. When he works again despite all his doubt, his passion comes back.
Adding to make more drama, Miyazaki is making his first CGI film here and is doing it with young animators in their 20's and 30's. CGI does not come easily. He struggles to understand this new medium. He is unhappy with early animation and wonders if he is making a mistake or if he is too old to learn something new. On the other hand when things are going well, the great filmmaker's happiness becomes hard for him to contain. Miyazaki's relationship with the younger crew is fascinating. On one hand working with such youthful animators revitalizes him, but on the other hand he becomes unsure about the way these new filmmakers work. In this case the young is learning from the old, while at the old is learning from the young and this is not always easy for either party, but offers great rewards for both.
This is an incredible and human look at one of the world's greatest living filmmakers. It offers us a look at the filmmaking process, that lets us not only see how a film is technically made, but the emotional and human part of the process as well. This is a must see for all film lovers.
-Michael J. Ruhland
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