Once in awhile a movie comes along that instantly draws you so deeply into another world that you just don't want it to end. Where every shot, every frame, is a surprise. Where you marvel at how someone could come up with such a complete universe where you never want to leave...My friend watched "Spirited Away" and then she called me and said in a reverent tone, "you really have to watch this. I'm going to save the netflix DVD until you can see it." I don't care for japanime, so two weeks went by before I finally got around to watching it. But from the moment the film started, the house could have burned down around me and I would not have stopped this movie.
The story is about a ten year-old girl named Chihiro, who is traveling through the countryside with her parents on the way to their new home. Taking a shortcut, they get lost in the forest and ends up at a hillside tunnel. The parents decide to go exploring, but end up in a strange, deserted village. Chihiro is separated from her parents and left alone to discover that the world in which she now finds herself trapped is the spirit world. "Spirited Away" is about her journey home. Along the way, she meets a panapoly of fantastical creatures, must work as a slave in a bath house and battle the unknown evils of the spirit world - all the while struggling to retain the memory of her former life, her parents and her name, which she needs if she is ever to escape.
I can't recommend this film highly enough. There is more inventive genius wrapped up in this film that I can't wait to watch it again, knowing there will be plenty of new discoveries awaiting me.
