"The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness" (The Guardian 07/11/14)
The
Kingdom of Dreams and Madness ****
Dir: Mami Sunada. With: Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, Toshio Suzuki. 118 mins.
Cert: PG
With news that Studio
Ghibli is winding down production, this intimate, all-access study of the
animation giant’s tranquil inner sanctum assumes an additional charge: future
generations may be as grateful for its footage of Hayao Miyazaki sketching as
we now are of early Beatles Super 8. Like many of the studio’s best films, Kingdom takes the form of a measured,
wistful leavetaking – a guided farewell tour. Miyazaki roams the ateliers in
his craft apron, trying to pass on 20th century etiquette to the
kids inking The Wind Rises’ fuselage;
outside, blossom falls, and commercial pressures mount, oblivious to the
exacting, time-intensive work required in conjuring such committed images from
scratch. (“Most of our world is rubbish”, sighs Miyazaki, making any number of
recent digimations blush.) From its reflective female voiceover to the Ghibli
cat’s frequent cameos, it’s as idiosyncratic, heartfelt and moving as anything
to have emerged from the studio’s gates.
The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness is now showing in selected cinemas.
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