Another film about a young child moving to a new home, Spirited Away is perhaps the ultimate summation of the themes and styles of the works of Hayao Miyazaki, in which self-realisation plays out against a mythologically-inspired backdrop, presented with a degree of beauty which is virtually unsurpassed in cinema history. After getting lost on the way to their new home, a young girl called Chihiro decides to wander off, only to find herself stumbling into a strange, nocturnal fantasy realm where she ends up trapped and working at a surreal bath house. Surrounded by some of the weirdest and most wonderful characters ever committed to film, she sets out to find her way back to reality and in the process discover her true sellf. Mixing up Japanese folklore and history with a perhaps the most distinctive visual style of all his movies, Miyazaki's Spirited Away is both a triumph of animation and a deeply symbolic tale which brings to mind Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, in which transformation and rites of passage permeate every sumptuous frame. It's destined to be a classic every bit as enduring as the greatest achievements of Walt Disney, and is a gorgeous insight into Japanese tradition. Agree or disagree with the order of this list? What are your favourite Hayao Miyazaki movies? Why not post a comment below?
