The Storyteller (37) | Don't run away from your memories, make movies out of them

(1)

People differ between drowning in his memories and fleeing from them, and the two complain about her pain.

Our friend today decided not to be this or that, he chose to make films out of it, and it made his glory.

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The hero of our story was born in the year 1941 in the Japanese capital, Tokyo, as the second child among the four children of his parents, while his father was running a family company that manufactured the rudders for fighter planes in the First World War.

Things flare up in the year 1944, and his family fears that the capital, Tokyo, will be subjected to American bombing in World War II, so they move to live in the city of Yotsunomiya temporarily, but are forced to leave it - as well - after being bombed.

The boy did not have a quiet childhood like others, as the war is in the air and the resulting shocks follow everyone.

When he reaches the age of six, his mother becomes ill, and her suffering continues for years until she dies.

Although the film was unable to achieve large cinematic revenues, within two years it turned into one of the most successful cinematic classics, and many considered it one of the most important works that presented a development in the world of animated films.

(3)

The war ends, life returns to normal, our friend enrolls in high school.

He discovers his hobby in drawing, but his imagination is still captive to the war years, so he draws what his eyes used to see during the years of pain, planes, ships, and everything related to war.

But frustration befalls our friend when he finds himself not innovating new in his drawings, he feels inside him that it is just a repetition of those distinct symbols that he follows, so he decides to tear all the notebooks that he drew in this way, wanting that his creativity be from the fertility of his imagination.

His interest in animation declines dramatically until the year 1958 comes, and Japan releases its first animated film in color, which is a movie: (panda and the magic serpent), and the hope is renewed within him again that he can produce something as distinguished as the movie he watched.

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Hayao graduated from the Faculty of Economics and Political Science in 1963, and he studied at the same time at the Children's Literature Club, in order to obtain sufficient knowledge and practical training on what can be presented of cinema and stories for children.

He joins the TOEI company for the production of animated films, and there he meets one of the best children's filmmakers, Isao Takahata, so that the two of them form a wonderful team together. His teacher develops all of his skills.

Hayao's work continues for several years as an assistant until he finally gets his first opportunity to present a film from his vision in the year 1979, which is (Lupin III: The castle of Cagliostro), to be his cinematic imprint that jumps with his name in the front row.

Although the film was unable to achieve large cinematic revenues, it turned within two years - or less - into one of the most successful cinematic classics, and many even considered it - later - as one of the most important works that presented a development in the world of animated films.

The interesting thing here was that the film was not a solo writing by our friend, but rather a joint work with another writer, but then he decides to unleash his imagination to re-enact the traumas he experienced in his childhood, and turn them into stories that rebel against what he lived instead of escaping from them.

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In 1984, our friend decides to write a movie from his imagination alone, without partnering with anyone, and indeed he comes out with a movie called: (Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind), whose story is a shock to many animators at the time, as its events revolve around a small village with a forest. The atmosphere in it turns into a toxic atmosphere due to advanced weapons ahead of its time, while a daring, brave and warrior young girl appears in this village who decides to search to stop the toxic war that strikes the village and the forest, without fear of confrontation or despair of failure.

The story of the film brings together many of his memories, but in a cinematic image devoid of details. The advanced war with its weapons that poisoned the atmosphere is not separate from what Hayao experienced as a boy who saw the war and did not know its cause. As for the brave woman who took the lead in the story, she was nothing but a loving and appreciative expression of his mother’s struggle. difficult over the years.

His mother's struggle was immortalized in his memory for more than one reason. Despite her incurable illness, she never showed surrender or abandonment of what she had to do, just as her memory during the war years - while she was protecting him - was not absent from his mind, so his decision was to celebrate her as he could. With his rebellious imagination away from the pain of reality.

The film was a huge success during its release, reaching a huge number of viewers around the world, and it was the bright spot that told many who Hayao Miyazaki was.

Not only was the film a gateway to success, but it was the gateway to the beginning of a story that changed Hayao's entire career path, opening the way to some of the greatest cinematic productions in the world of animation to date.

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Hiao and his mentor Isao decide to get out of work under the umbrella of a company, and launch their own studio, to develop films that they write and draw characters and events themselves, so they launched Studio Ghibli, which has become one of the most important companies producing animated films.

Both comrades began working in their new company producing cinematic artifacts, so Isao presented his exquisite masterpiece (Grave of fireflies), which attracted the attention of millions around the world, and presented a different picture of the Japanese victims of World War II.

The story of the film revolved around a child and his sister who lost their family during World War II, and the brother began a difficult journey carrying his sister to escape with her from places of danger, and trying to work as much as he could do with his small body, to provide her with food and protection.

Isao succeeded in mobilizing the film's audience towards the story until the last moment, with all the painful details that the story contained about Japan's victims in that bloody war, so that the film was able to secure its place among the most prominent animated films in history undisputedly.

That experience seemed to be a great incentive for Studio Ghibli, which provided a great and promising start at the beginning of its work, so that Hayao launched his own story and his own movie (My Neighbor totoro), which is one of the most beautiful and strangest stories at the same time, just as his memory and his mind were affected by the early years of his life he was present in the story.

The story of the film revolves around two older girls born in 1948, that is: just a few years after the end of World War II, the two girls move to a rural village because of their mother's working conditions, but they are surprised by some strange and sometimes funny spirits at home.

The film raised a state of strangeness and astonishment over the years of its presentation. As much as the kindness and calmness presented in the film, which makes it suitable for children - drawing from it the spirit of hope and ambition from the young heroine of the film - except that the recurring imaginary oddities in the film - which often inspired loss and wandering Amidst fields and plantings - it was the product of Hayao's perception of Japan in the post-defeat and war years, a wandering followed by wandering, strangeness and loss, even his mother's illness was suggestively present in the film, and Hayao's desire to link to Japan was clear in the history of the beginning of the story, and the simple symbols within it .

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Hayao continued to present his creations until the year 2001 to launch one of the most successful and most distinguished animated films in the history of cinema, which is the movie: (Spirited Away), which takes place in a completely fictional world, in which the genius is manifested in being presented to children as a film about a child who goes through An interesting adventure for survival, while the film, with all its symbolism, carries deep and tangible meanings with which it wanted to direct the arrows of criticism and rejection.

Although the man is over his eighties, he is still able to give up the decision to retire, and continue to present creations from time to time

The story of the film revolves around a child who arrives with her parents to a festive festival, and when her parents arrive at the open food place, they sit in front of it, and they continue to eat with strange greed, and without stopping, while the child spins inside the festival to watch what is happening in it, until she is surprised that everything in the festival turns And it changes, so her parents turn into strange creatures, due to gluttony, normal people disappear from the festival, and the child finds herself in a place full of strange characters and ghosts.

The child tries to escape, but she finds herself in a circle that she knows neither its beginning nor its end, until she ends up inside a factory where she has to work, so that she can escape and get out, in a symbolic way for children to work in places of luxury for the wealthy.

The film revolves around many similar symbols about the evil of modern life, the enslavement of the young and the poor in it, and other meanings that clearly confronted the world of modernity and its luxury.

Moral attitudes were not absent from the successful film after its release. In 2003, Hayao Miyazaki received an invitation to attend the Academy Awards in the United States to receive an award for his film: (Spirited away), as the film was the first film in the history of the Academy Awards in Japanese, and it is also the first A full handwritten film was nominated for the award, but the US army at that time had invaded Iraq, so Miyazaki declared - clearly - his refusal to attend the Oscar ceremony, or to receive the award, and announced in an official statement that he could not accept an award from a country that bombed Iraq.

Miyazaki's life contained one of the strangest paradoxes. The distinguished man in animation films announced his retirement in 1999 and stopped working, but Ghibli convinced him to return and work, so he presented the movie (Spirted Away) in 2001, then he renewed his decision to retire in 2013, but then returned to work. Then he decided to retire in 2020, but he agreed again to work after that, while mentioning that it will be his last work for his fans.

The irony of retirement reveals Miyazaki's desire to pause and withdraw into a quieter side of life, while there are millions of adoring fans who yearn every time his name or Studio Ghibli appear on a new piece.

Although the man is over his eighties, he is still able to give up the decision to retire, and continue to present creations from time to time.

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Hayao Miyazaki's mother remained present in his imagination all the time, and for many years after he became a famous director, she was present in his statements and creations. Every time he was asked why the heroines of his stories appeared in the form of a brave, persistent and combative woman, he invoked the mention of his mother as an inspiration for that character.