The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness

Before I watched this documentary about Studio Ghibli and its creator, Hayao Miyazaki, I knew very little about the man but loved his films. Now, after having seen this movie, I kind of wish I hadn't. After all, in my mind, I assumed that Ghibli must have been some sort of magical place where fun and fantasy skipped hand in hand. However, it turned out to be a very different sort of film--a bit slow and amazingly downbeat!

The style of this documentary by Mami Sunada is rather free-form. It does not offer a chronological discussion of the history of Miyazaki or the studio. Instead, it just lets the staff of Ghibli (mostly but not exclusively Miyazaki) talk and there isn't much in the way of structure. At times, you hear folks talk about some of this history, but people wanting this sort of film should look elsewhere. So much of the film consists of behind the scenes discussions--some of which really surprised me. If Miyazaki didn't like someone or their work, he said so without being particularly diplomatic about this. And, to be fair, some of his employees talked about him in less than glowing terms and felt free to do so! But what really got me was how the man seemed to have an extremely depressive personality. It's not going out on a limb to draw that conclusion, either, with his comments throughout the film such as "I don't ever feel happy in my daily life" and "filmmaking only brings suffering". Wow...kind of a downer, don't you think? He also very candidly said that he didn't think the studio would survive after his death or with his son in charge. Ouch.

So is this documentary any good? Well, it all depends. If you want honesty, and too often biopics are incredibly dishonest, this one is honest...showing Miyazaki warts and all. However, if you want to enjoy a documentary or feel uplifted, you'd best try something else.

Wonderful and insightful movie about Hayao Miyazaki's life and work at the famous Studio Ghibli, responsible for animation classics such as "My Neighbor Totoro" and "Spirited Away", during the making of Oscar-nominated "The Wind Rises", his most personal work to date and presumably the last. The documentary offers many personal views from the director, with plenty of photographs and archive footage, and also incredible shots of the strenuous process of making traditional hand-draw animation. At 72 years old, and facing a possible retirement, Miyazaki still manages to instill hope for more to come. Beautifully done.

Mostly magical movie of my life. I cried when he wrote that letter. Miyazaki is on of the few artists in this modern world and we need to appreciate him for that. Legends never die.

If you love films as a passion go watch this.

If you love films as an art go watch this.

If you love animation go watch this.

If you want to see a glimpse of the magic of film go watch this.

This documentary is something special. If you don't know already this documentary follows one of the greatest animators of all time, Hayao Miyazaki, as he works on what is likely his last film, the Oscar-nominated 'The Wind Rises".

This small peak behind the scenes is something of an oddity among documentaries. Where as so many documentaries are focused on presenting the facts of a topic to light in a way that is both non- biased and easy to understand 'The Kingdom of Dreams and Magic' prefers to forgo this and instead attempt to provide emotion to its viewers as well as leave a lot of subjects and stories untouched or unfinished in a way that makes me think that the documentary film makers behind the camera never had any intention in attempting to make the famed studio Ghibli any less magical. I have to believe that this was done purposefully to protect the magic of the studio to which the title of this documentary alludes.

If you are reading this and wondering why I'm being so vague about describing the actual goings on of the documentary it is because I feel the emotion of what I saw in this film can never be translated properly to the written word.

If you ever watched a movie of Hayao Miyazaki then watch this flick, it will only make you respect the man, the studio, and the films even more.

Detailed observational doco filmed in Hayao Miyazaki's Studio Gibli building. The studio cat gets as much screen time as Takahata working down the road on The TALE of PRINCESS KAGYUA.

The bulk of the footage covers Miyazaki finalizing AS the WIND RISES working in his computer free headquarters, recording voice tracks and music and showing the finished film to his staff.The only person in a suit is the legal rep.

Not an unblemished study, as this is likely to be the last film of both these major figures in animation, the record of their work has an extra, slightly melancholy feeling.