Has anyone seen this yet? (it's on US Netflix if you haven't; and if you haven't, you totally should)
It's essentially a year in the professional life of Hayao Miyazaki as he makes (what is probably) his last film for Studio Ghibli. As a look inside the Ghibli Studios (apparently this was the first time a documentary crew was allowed near unconditional access to the studio's inner-workings) and an overview of the Ghibli history, I thought it fell a little flat. But Miyazaki is such an endlessly fascinating documentary subject, that it makes for pretty captivating viewing all the same. I could seriously listen to guy talk for days. He has an incredibly dry wit about him, and at times comes across as being downright curmudgeonly, but the wisdom that drips from even his most casual observations is kind of awe-inspiring. And indeed there's some really lovely scenes where his assistant, who is clearly a big fan of his also, just sits in awe of this guy, trying to soak up this wisdom as she quizzes him about Kiki's Delivery Service. The scene where he's looking out of a window, and spontaneously eulogises his own career in animation provides this really poignant glimpse in to the way his mind works. His genius lies in being able to see the extraordinary in the ordinary, in seeing things in the environment, in people, in history, that go overlooked, and changing the perspective just enough so that they become something wondrous. It's really beautifully shot too, and there's an awesome cat that lives at the studio. So... well worth a watch, innit :thumbleft:
It's essentially a year in the professional life of Hayao Miyazaki as he makes (what is probably) his last film for Studio Ghibli. As a look inside the Ghibli Studios (apparently this was the first time a documentary crew was allowed near unconditional access to the studio's inner-workings) and an overview of the Ghibli history, I thought it fell a little flat. But Miyazaki is such an endlessly fascinating documentary subject, that it makes for pretty captivating viewing all the same. I could seriously listen to guy talk for days. He has an incredibly dry wit about him, and at times comes across as being downright curmudgeonly, but the wisdom that drips from even his most casual observations is kind of awe-inspiring. And indeed there's some really lovely scenes where his assistant, who is clearly a big fan of his also, just sits in awe of this guy, trying to soak up this wisdom as she quizzes him about Kiki's Delivery Service. The scene where he's looking out of a window, and spontaneously eulogises his own career in animation provides this really poignant glimpse in to the way his mind works. His genius lies in being able to see the extraordinary in the ordinary, in seeing things in the environment, in people, in history, that go overlooked, and changing the perspective just enough so that they become something wondrous. It's really beautifully shot too, and there's an awesome cat that lives at the studio. So... well worth a watch, innit :thumbleft:
