Update to Spirited Away Post

By the way, I watched another Hayao Miyazaki film, the 1986 anime film Laputa: Castle in the Sky and I just have to say, it was really a disappointment after Spirited Away. This film was not half as good, nor half as engaging. Mostly, my problem with this film revolved around the underdeveloped and stereotypical main characters, Sheeta and Panzu. I really didn't care what happened to them, and it seems as if Miyazaki didn't care much either. Perhaps in this film, more than Spirited Away, Miyazaki's focus remained on the theme, so that his character were only backdrop.

The Young Visiters or Mr. Salteena's Plan

I watched a quirky little BBC film today, The Young Visiters (sic), or Mr. Salteena's Plan staring one of my favorite British actors Hugh Laurie. The great cast also included Jim Broadbent, Lyndsey Marshal (of HBO's Rome) and Bill Nighy - who needs no introduction. Filmed in 2003, this story comes to us via a novella written by a nine year old girl, Daisy Ashford, who wrote the story in just twelve days in 1890. Though the plot is indeed slightly naive (as someone once criticized F. Scott Fritzgerald's novel "This Side of Paradise" as being a "classic in a class with The Young Visiters.") What is not simple is the character development, plot structure and strangest of all (for a nine year old) the complexities and nuances of the romantic love-triangle. I was astounded to think that a child would be capable of creating a rich protagonist who, thwarted by his circumstances and class, manages to find love in such a (dare I say) fatalist way. At nine, Daisy Ashford understood the needs and wants of these well-developed characters in a way that lesser works by many professional writers do, and that, quite frankly, shocked me. I was really impressed by this piece, and something about it sort of tugs at me...hm. I'll have to give it a little more thought...all in all, definitely worth watching. I highly recommend it.