The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness

Before I watched this documentary about Studio Ghibli and its creator, Hayao Miyazaki, I knew very little about the man but loved his films. Now, after having seen this movie, I kind of wish I hadn't. After all, in my mind, I assumed that Ghibli must have been some sort of magical place where fun and fantasy skipped hand in hand. However, it turned out to be a very different sort of film--a bit slow and amazingly downbeat!

The style of this documentary by Mami Sunada is rather free-form. It does not offer a chronological discussion of the history of Miyazaki or the studio. Instead, it just lets the staff of Ghibli (mostly but not exclusively Miyazaki) talk and there isn't much in the way of structure. At times, you hear folks talk about some of this history, but people wanting this sort of film should look elsewhere. So much of the film consists of behind the scenes discussions--some of which really surprised me. If Miyazaki didn't like someone or their work, he said so without being particularly diplomatic about this. And, to be fair, some of his employees talked about him in less than glowing terms and felt free to do so! But what really got me was how the man seemed to have an extremely depressive personality. It's not going out on a limb to draw that conclusion, either, with his comments throughout the film such as "I don't ever feel happy in my daily life" and "filmmaking only brings suffering". Wow...kind of a downer, don't you think? He also very candidly said that he didn't think the studio would survive after his death or with his son in charge. Ouch.

So is this documentary any good? Well, it all depends. If you want honesty, and too often biopics are incredibly dishonest, this one is honest...showing Miyazaki warts and all. However, if you want to enjoy a documentary or feel uplifted, you'd best try something else.

A very impressive and honest portrayal of the great Japanese animation creator/director Hayao Miyazaki. Documentary director Mami Sunada shadowed the animation director as he created his latest work – When the Wind Rises. Sunada seemed to have full access to the studio and home of the director, taping company meetings, interviewing and recording some of the 400 employees at work at the Ghibli Studio in west Tokyo. Interspersed in the latest development of the script and creation process were the complicated relationship, partnership and friendship between Miyazaki and Isao Takahada, who bought Miyazaki into the field of animation years ago. He was directing the animation The Tale of Princess Kaguya which was scheduled to show in Japan the same year as When the Wind Rises. Never to be missed was the portrayal of micro- managing producer Toshio Suzuki who had been working between the two giants for more than half of a century.

It is moving watching archive footages of these three young men working closely for and dedicated more than half of their lives to this field. Long terms friends and work partners, they have gradually grown into three graceful yet a little stubborn artists. You cannot help but admire their respect for their passion. Also valuable was how candid Miyazaki was in front of the camera, revealing his philosophy, emotions, contradiction, hesitation and imagination. At 72, he is still lively and fun as a child and dreams of all kind of crazy ideas. Excellent editing here to insert clips of the animation which made his dreams come true. We also see his deepest respect for life and ordinary things around him. In many ways, he reminds me of the grandfather in Heidi: A Girl from the Alps, directed by Takahata in 1974, particularly when Miyazaki has his apron on almost all the time.

I watched this after visiting the exhibition on Studio Ghibli Layout Designs: Understanding the secrets of Takahata and Miyazaki Animation at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum. It was much less interesting than the visit to the Ghibli Studio in Tokyo but the exhibit offered a closer look at some of the tediously detailed hand-drawn artwork which I later saw in this film.

Similar to Miyazaki's animation work, the studio was warm and filled with natural light. The work style is informal, fun and loving though Miyazaki can be hard to work with at times. It looks like a fun place to work. Now, having learned more about how Miyazaki created his various animation works, I would sure watch his work again in new lights.

If you love films as a passion go watch this.

If you love films as an art go watch this.

If you love animation go watch this.

If you want to see a glimpse of the magic of film go watch this.

This documentary is something special. If you don't know already this documentary follows one of the greatest animators of all time, Hayao Miyazaki, as he works on what is likely his last film, the Oscar-nominated 'The Wind Rises".

This small peak behind the scenes is something of an oddity among documentaries. Where as so many documentaries are focused on presenting the facts of a topic to light in a way that is both non- biased and easy to understand 'The Kingdom of Dreams and Magic' prefers to forgo this and instead attempt to provide emotion to its viewers as well as leave a lot of subjects and stories untouched or unfinished in a way that makes me think that the documentary film makers behind the camera never had any intention in attempting to make the famed studio Ghibli any less magical. I have to believe that this was done purposefully to protect the magic of the studio to which the title of this documentary alludes.

If you are reading this and wondering why I'm being so vague about describing the actual goings on of the documentary it is because I feel the emotion of what I saw in this film can never be translated properly to the written word.

If you ever watched a movie of Hayao Miyazaki then watch this flick, it will only make you respect the man, the studio, and the films even more.

Overall, I really liked this documentary, but it does have some problems I can't ignore. As someone who loves Studio Ghibli, it was really cool to see how the films I love are made, even if it only shows creation scenes from The Wind Rises. Seeing how animation legends like Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata go about their days, I felt, were fairly interesting. What I didn't like, however, was that it didn't go super deep into how other Ghibli films were made, it doesn't go that deep into how the company was formed, and Miyazaki and Takahata never really talk about their own films. I would have loved to hear what inspired them to make those films and what it meant to them personally. But, then again, I don't think they were even going for that. I just think the movie would have been more interesting if they had done what I wanted. Anyway, despite these flaws, I would still recommend this movie. Only to those who love Ghibli though. Everyone else will be quite bored.

The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness stays true to its name, offering a deep, touching, and realistic insight into the dreams and madness rampant in the production of Hayao Miyazaki's 'last' masterpiece, 'The Wind Rises'.

To the surprise of many, the documentary doesn't dive into Studio Ghibli's rich heritage. With the exception of Miyazaki's partnership with Isao Takahata, we learn little to nothing of his life, family, education, and works. Even less documented is the production process from concept to film. If you're looking for structure, biopsy, behind the scenes, and feel-good tangents, this is not it.

'Hello, please allow me to observe you working.' - the hanging note in the opening scenes summarizes the film's 'unobtrusive' approach. Unlike the typical American documentary, the Kingdom of Dreams and Madness drops the head-on interviews, spotlights, and overall busy atmosphere, in favour of capturing the routine of the team at Ghibli. Lacking the excitement and glorification one would expect from such a talented budget, the already 120 minute long time line feels slow. Watching sometimes feels as tedious as the animation process itself. Though, the result is a treasure: an unbiased look at what it means to be, and work for Miyazaki; the crew's timid involvement allows Miyazaki to open up, giving us an unexpected glimpse into what goes on in his head, and leads to a touching, raw, understanding of 'the suffering of film making'.

There's one thing to take away from The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness: Miyazaki's philosophy. In a place where we expect happiness, motivation, and fusion, we instead find cynicism, bitterness, frustration, and chaos. Albeit delivered politely and comically, Miyazaki's words are not what we expect to hear. Through rants about bowing to not being able to draw A6M Zero's, Miyazaki channels his surrender within the modern world. 'Today, all of humanity's dreams are cursed somehow'. You can't create your own happiness, because you cannot control how others see your creations. 'The notion that one's goal in life is to be happy, that your own happiness is the goal... I just don't buy it.'

The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness is nothing you would expect, and everything you need to know. At first hard to follow, it quickly immerses you in a philosophical trance. Be sure to leave time to ponder at this solid 10.