Ghibli Glory

AFI Silver (photo from trazzler.com)

The cherry blossoms in DC bloomed over two months ago and there was a 5-week long celebration to commemorate their 100 years in the city. Part of this celebration was the Studio Ghibli retrospective called "Castles in the Sky." It's a traveling show and has already been to LA, Dallas, Austin, and New York. It's currently in Portland and only has two more weeks left here. Over the long weekend, I was finally able to go. The films are playing at AFI Silver, and there was not a more perfect place to see this movie. It is gorgeous, historic and in a nice little neighbourhood with plenty of good places to eat. Typically, I think of DC as an uptight place. Though, if it were that uptight, I don't think the Smithsonian and a beautiful art deco theater would be running (classic) anime movies for two months straight. Events like this make me happy to be here.

About 12-13 years ago, I saw Princess Mononoke in an old, run down theater. Maybe I was too young or too stupid to appreciate the movie back then, but as of the day before last Monday, the only thing I could really remember about the movie were the "clicky-clickies" (kodama). This is the most gorgeous movie I have ever seen about humans destroying the planet. It doesn't just look beautiful either. The story, the adventure, and the relationships between characters is completely absorbing. Because technology makes creating film so much easier today, the hand-drawn animation in it is probably something we will never see again.

Shamefully, I have not seen all of the Studio Ghibli movies, but I am making an effort to do so. John Lasseter (Chief Creative Officer of Disney) is making a conscious effort to provide us with great dubs in the theater, and I encourage everyone to buy a ticket when the the next Ghibli film comes to town. Thankfully, "Castles in the Sky" is giving cities all over the US the opportunity to see old Ghibli films many of us did not get to see in theaters. To everyone at my home base in Chicago, the Gene Siskel Film Center will be hosting "Castles in the Sky" starting next week. The Gene Siskel Film Center is a fantastic venue in the heart of the loop. Hopefully, I can find someone to go with me to a screening of My Neigbor Totoro.

Movie poster displayed at AFI Silver