masterwordsmith-unplugged

One of the best 'A-level' students I have ever taught in my life is Lin Kyaw who is currently doing his final semester in The One Academy. He is a straight 'A' student who could have done medicine but chose to do chemical engineering in New Zealand. He returned to Malaysia two years later to pursue a degree in art instead because of his gifting and heart in that field.

Some of you might have guessed by now that I was a tough cookie in my classes and demanded for nothing but the best from my students. Most complied and I was truly blessed by my former students, in fact spoiled for life. I do not think the current batch of students today would be able to stand the heat I used to give my former students. That is one of the reasons why I do not want to lecture again - the idealist in me who would rather retire and reminisce over the wonderful memories than cry at the deplorable standards that are so obvious at different levels of education today.

I have read Lin's essays many times for the past six years because he writes with much elegance, maturity and a distinctive style of his own. This evening, it is my pleasure to feature his movie review of "Spirited Away" which he submitted in 2003 as a class assignment. Needless to say, I gave him an "A" for this exceptional piece of work for an 18 year old young man.

For your information, I am a die-hard Hayao Miyazaki fan (I have all his movies) and I love to watch anime!!! After reading his essay, I am sure you can appreciate why I always complain about how many students these days CANNOT write or think critically or analytically. Thanks, Lin, for giving me permission to post this review. I have kept his assignment in mint condition because it is truly a very brilliant piece of work!
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For those who used to be ten years old and those who will be ten years old.....



A world where gods and spirits walk among men and women is indeed a fantasy. This world is exactly where Hayao Miyazaki takes us in "Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi" or "Spirited Away" to non-Japanese viewers. A critically acclaimed director, Hayao Miyazaki has surprised the world with beautifully rendered tales weaved into magnificent animated worlds. His best works were "Princess Mononoke" and "Spirited Away" and both received praises from movie critics and viewers alike. This particular masterpiece won many awards including the Golden Bear Award for Best Film at the 52nd Berlin International Film Festival, Best Picture in the 25th Nippon Academy Awards, Best Asian Film of the Year in the 21st Hong Kong Film Awards, Best Animated Feature Film in the 75th Annual Academy Awards and many other awards (CLICK HERE TO SEE THE LIST).



"Spirited Away" starts with a ten-year old girl, Chihiro and her parents taking a detour that leads them to a mysterious tunnel and a seemingly abandoned town instead of to their new home. Despite her pleas, Chihiro's parents unknowingly venture into the Land of Spirits. Oblivious to their current whereabouts, Chihiro's parents eat from a feast prepared for the gods and spirits and are then transformed into pigs. In order to save them, Chihiro must surrender her name and serve the greedy witch cum ruler, Yubaba.

Luckily, she finds friends and allies quickly, including a mysterious boy Haku and the kindly old man who tends the furnace. Starting as a very scared and nervous girl, Chihiro finds inner strength to rescue herself and her family. Through a series of events involving a River God, the Faceless Evil, and Haku, Chihiro (or Sen as she is now known in the spirit land) embarks on an adventure that will change her life and save her family.

In the end, Chihiro manages to win back her name, save her parents and return to modern day Japan. Even though Chihiro's parents do not know anything that happened during their stay in the mystical world, Chihiro on the other hand, had her life changed forever.



A fairy tale of epical proportions, this animated movie has a perfect setting. Modern day Japan is realistically animated while the surreal plains and backdrops give life to the land of spirits. There has not been a motion picture which has such synchronization with its setting. Hayao Miyazaki indeed has a talent for animation (unofficially earning the title of Master of Anime) and this can be seen in the breathtaking landscapes. The lush green hills placed against an azure sky evoke a feeling of serenity , while the sunken plains (after the rain) truly capture one's imagination. Almost everything in the spirit world is related to the real world. For example, the bathhouse is culturally significant in Japan and the transit train reminds us of its real life counterpart - the famous Japanese subway transit.



With regards to the voice talents used for this movie, Rumi Hiiragi is a very good choice for the role of Chihiro. From a very nervous girl at the beginning of the story, she quickly transforms into a very responsible and confident person. With her shaky and uneasy tone, she convinces us of the deep fear that ten-year old Chihiro feels when first encountering a world full of very bizarre residents. As she begins to accept the way of the spirit world, she becomes braver until at one point, moved by her concern for Haku, she embarks on a long journey into the heart of a swarm. The change in her voice that slowly takes place as the story progresses really adds realism to the movie. Besides, the character animation for emotions and movements are fluid and flawless. Not even a single twitch is overlooked (note how Chihiro clenches her toes whenever she hurts herself). The animation experts in this movie really paid careful attention to such details.

Those who merely labelled "Spirited Away" as a 'cartoon' have failed to see its good qualities which put real life movies to shame with its excellence. There are abundant hidden messages and values behind this beautiful story. The boy named Haku, who sacrificed his identity to the witch Yubaba in order to learn black magic, found himself enslaved to her as he now lives by the name she has given him. He can only be freed from the witch's clutches when he recovers his old name. Perhaps this is an allusion to the teen craze of sacrificing one's identity just to follow trends set by celebrities thereby indirectly teaching us the importance of being ourselves.



Another message is about friendship - that true friendship cannot be bought or demanded. From the time Chihiro meets the Faceless Evil, he keeps following her, seeking her friendship and even tries to buy the companionship of the bathhouse employees by offering them gold but unfortunately, they were interested in the gold and not him. He offers Chihiro gold as well but she declines and befriends him in the end without the need of financial motivation. Even the issue of pollution is highlighted in this movie when the bathhouse employees pull out all kinds of rubbish from the River God.

Hayao Miyazaki's works has the tendency to deviate from mainstream plots. As demonstrated in his latest animations "Princess Mononoke" and "Spirited "Away", his stories do not have a good guy-bad guy theme. In the former, it was a fight for survival between man and nature and both were as wrong and as right as the other.

"Spirited Away' is more like a visually and emotionally astounding narration of how a weak child grows to be independent. There is neither a megalomaniac hell-bent on world domination nor a knight in shining armour defending thousands of innocent lives. The closest to an antagonist is the witch Yubaba but the only bad thing about her is her fanatical desire to gain riches and to be frank. Every character you meet in "Spirited Away" is an example of characters whom we will or have met in life - from Yubaba to the lonely, attention-craving Faceless Evil and Ling the ignorant but well-meaning friend.

Of notable mention is the composer of the soundtrack - Joe Hisashi. From the romantic slow beat of the opening theme, "Ano Natsu He" (One Summer's Day) to the more inspiring tune of "Futatabi" (Reprisal), Joe Hisashi has blessed the already visually rich animation with a superb musical score. I was truly touched by how well the music synchronizes with the scenery to breathe a truly fantastic atmosphere. In fact, those were the two factors that influenced me to watch the movie again.

On a more personal note, I believe that "Spirited Away" has been underestimated because Miyazaki chose to deliver his excellent story line in pen and paint. Due to parochial and prejudiced perspectives, many have disregarded this movie without any realization of what they have missed in life. Never before has any movie of any genre touched me so deeply to the extent that I reviewed my thoughts and renewed my perspective to life. If you chose not to watch this movie, you cannot imagine the magnitude of your error. Take my word - get yourself a copy of the movie, sit down and watch it with an open heart and I assure you that your time will be well spent. Too often, we judge a book by its cover until we cannot assess our loss. I implore you now - do not allow yourself to repeat this old and foolish mistake. Watch "Spirited Away" and you will really be spirited away....



*written by Lin Kyaw
*edited by masterwordsmith
*graphics selected by mws and taken from photobucket

Other essays by my former students featured in this blog include:

The American Beauty by Melissa Kuo

Woofy in my Heart by Lim Zhi-Xuan (7 years old)

My Grandfather by Eugene Huang (aged 16 years)

My son's story - Blakely's Journey to Noblicle

The Analogy Technique in Writing by Hobart Lim(18 years old)


Have a lovely evening, dear reader!