A Vague Visages Film Series by Jordan Brooks
“As in many Studio Ghibli films before it, the male director is speaking directly to his male audience, pleading with them to treat the women in their lives with the respect and equality they deserve.”
“Almost as if something out of a Japanese elementary school history class, Miyazaki’s last Studio Ghibli film leaves me with a great sense of numbness rather than the invigorating wonder I have come to expect from the master of anime.”
“Perhaps not the film for the adventurous young adult, Ponyo proves that remarkable visual inventiveness more-than makes up for candy-sweet morals and glass-fragile plot lines.”
“Abandoning messages of environmentalism and nonviolence, ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’ abandons the narrative moralities that typify the director’s style.”
“A careful reframing of the typical coming-of-age narrative, ‘Spirited Away’ displays a fondness those infinitely awkward years, while showing us all how important they were in making us who we are today.”
“‘Princess Mononoke’ explores this gaping chasm between nature’s gentle acceptance of circumstance and humanity’s steadfast refusal to quietly accept death.”
“Hoping not to hinder the inevitable forward progress of society, this Studio Ghibli gem only asks of us that with each step forward, we reflect on the past, and only take that step with the confidence and hope it deserves.”
“A gripping drama whose defiant youths refuse to bow to war, hunger and indifference, Grave of the Fireflies is a film for children to learn the harsh realities of life so that they can do all in their power to prevent the cycle from continuing.”
“An astonishing achievement of handcrafted animation, Miyazaki’s third Ghibli film solidified the studio’s presence, and has become an enduring symbol of its excellence.”
“It is a film for little humans (and big humans) that places hopefulness, imagination and kindness above all else.”