My review of The Tale of The Princess Kaguya is spoiler-free!
Empathy cannot exist without sadness. This theme of The Tale of The Princess Kaguya is exemplified in a sequence where some individuals who could not feel sadness threw a festival; They did so in the presence of a family who wept over the threat of never seeing one another again. The souls who lacked empathy didn't have any ill intentions, yet their absence of feeling empathy was reinforced by their music; that tune was involved in what felt like a surreal call and response to the grief-fueled music that played in the background of those scenes. Speaking of music, The Tale of The Princess Kaguya featured a juxtaposition of a song's cheerful and tragic renditions; it was an aching representation of joy and melancholia being two sides of the same coin. Empathy also requires happiness, but even happiness doesn't require euphoria. Rather, happiness can accompany sadness, while it is nevertheless appreciating the beauty of life itself. Furthermore, love for others cannot exist without empathy. Another theme of The Tale of The Princess Kaguya is how parents with the best of intentions can mistake their happiness, and their perception of who their kids are meant to be, with their kids' own passions and authenticity. Kaguya's father makes that mistake as he lives vicariously through his daughter, only to unintentionally drive her into a steadfast depression, even to the point of suicidal ideation. The status that she is thrown into shuts her best friends out of her life (by the way, I love that her best friends are boys. Their love for her, one of their best friends, in all her authenticity contrasts with the royal suitors who objectified her and presumed that her happiness depended on their own). Yet Kaguya still wanted to be accepted by her father (though he would never have rejected her) so she tried her best to comply to his belief in who she was meant to be. Thus, one of the fimmakers' other messages is this: don't rely on others' happiness for your own. The film's accompanying theme is about the necessity of authentic conversations, even when they're uncomfortable, since even individuals with the best of intentions can have mistaken perceptions that may be harmful. The Tale of The Princess Kaguya is an evocative masterpiece. Some other highlights from The Tale of The Princess Kaguya: ★ The visuals are watercolor paintings in motion. ★ Theme: Beauty standards are completely subjective, no matter how popular they are. ★ Theme: Girls sweat and laugh like boys do (you'll understand that statement if you see the film). ★ Theme: Goodbyes can take loved ones by surprise, even to the point where they may not have realized that the last time they would meet already happened. ~ ~ ~ ★ Film Details ★ Directed by: Isao Takahata Screenplay by: Isao Takahata & Riko Sakaguchi Based on: The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter by unknown Genre: Historical Fantasy Release Year: 2013 ~ ~ ~ My other Studio Ghibli film reviews:
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