Princesse Mononoke

A demon suddenly attacks a village in the middle of the mountains and forests of feudal Japan. While trying to defend the village, Prince Ashitaka is cursed by the demon, but manages to strike it down. After the creature’s death, it becomes clear that an iron bullet had wounded the erstwhile boar god and caused it to become a raging demon. The supreme shaman’s prediction leaves no doubt: now cursed, Ashitaka will meet the same fate, so he sets out to search for the demon’s origin in the short time he has left. 

Before long, he finds himself in the middle of a war between humans and gods. Eboshi – the ambitious mistress of the ironworks and a clan of outcasts – is fighting against a power-hungry ruler. At the same time, she wages war against the gods of the forest to secure land and raw materials for her people. Eboshi courts the favour of the emperor and therefore also hunts the forest god, whose head allegedly confers immortality. Her opponent is Princess Mononoke, who was raised by wolves. Driven by hatred for Eboshi, she fights alongside the animals. To avert the impending battle and save the forest, Prince Ashitaka tries to mediate between the two, but their anger can hardly be appeased. A last stand decides the fate of the gods and humans.

Hayao Miyazaki’s film was released in cinemas in1997 and yet is now more topical than ever. The fierce and, at the same time, complex struggle between humans and nature is told without being polemical and depicted richly in metaphors, sometimes enchanting, sometimes surprisingly brutal. Miyazaki said the bloody scenes were unavoidable. Joe Hisaishi’s score accentuates Miyazaki’s intoxicating images with unparalleled melancholy. Indeed, a timeless masterpiece. (Dorian Duric)