Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageSpirited Away (2001)
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Miyazaki's first digitally animated feature (the highest-grossing Japanese film ever) initially seems like a Through the Looking-Glass fantasy, but rapidly picks up a resonance, weight and complexity that make it all but Shakespearean. Chihiro, a sullen and resentful 10-year-old, is moving house with her parents when they stumble into the world of the Japanese gods - where the greedy parents are soon turned into pigs. Chihiro bluffs her way into a job in the resort spa run by the sorceress Yubaba, but at the cost of her human name and identity; she becomes Sen. With her links to her own past slipping away, she finds an ally in Yubaba's factotum Haku, a mysteriously powerful boy who also has a lost identity behind him. Never remotely didactic, the film is ultimately a self-fulfilment drama that touches on religious, ethical, ecological and psychological issues. (There's also an undercurrent of satire: Miyazaki admits that Yubaba's bath-house is a parody of his own Studio Ghibli.) No other word for it: a masterpiece.Author: TR
Cast & crew
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Producer: Toshio Suzuki
Cast: Rumi Hiragi, Miyu Irino, Mari Natsuki, Takashi Naito, Bunta Sugawara full cast
Duration: 125 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Has Michael Mann lost it?
Adam Lee Davies mourns the passing of a major Hollywood talent as Michael Mann's 'Public Enemies' sees the great director running on empty
Why 'Ice Age 3' is really for adults
Tom Huddleston takes a look at a selection of films which bring adult problems to a pre-teen audience
Is this Summer 2009's best film?
The French filmmaker Claire Denis speaks to Dave Calhoun about her new film, '35 Shots of Rum', a tender portrait of a father-daughter relationship in Paris
The Informant: trailer preview
Steven Soderbergh is at it again, this time with a screwball corporate caper starring Matt Damon called 'The Informant'. View the trailer here...
Rudo y Cursi: interview
Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna talk to Time Out about their highly entertaining new comedy, 'Rudo y Cursi'
An open letter to Peter Morgan
Tom Huddleston penned an open letter to Peter Morgan offering some friendly dos and don'ts for the new Bond movie
Outdoor film screenings in London 2009
Derek Adams offers a guide to the best places to see films outside in London this summer
50 essential sci-fi films
With 'Star Trek' making serious waves, we thought it would be a perfect time to select 50 must-see sci-fi films
What do you think?
Post your review now