For this edition of things you might not have seen, I will talk about the animated movie, My Neighbor, Totoro, directed by Hayao Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli.
The move is set in 1950s Japan, where a university professor and his two daughters, Satsuki and Mei, move into an old house. We learn that the girls’ mother, Yasuko, is being treated for an illness in an hospital. The story is about the two girls, as they discover and explore their new surroundings. Satsuki and Mei first find small, dark, dust-like house spirits in their new home. The soot spirits soon leave to find another empty house.
The movie is filled with child-like wonder and curiosity. The strength of the movie is not so much as what happens to move the story forward, but rather the realistic portrayal of the two sisters’ relationship. There are sibling squabbles, tears and frustration, as the two young girls try to deal with an ailing mother, and a distracted father.
Perhaps the most captivating moment in the movie is meeting the enigmatic creature called Totoro. Totoro represents an escape from their troubled reality. Eventually, the girls’ mother returns home well, and the sisters return back to a normal life. They play with other children, while Totoro and his friends watch them from a distance.
This is a whimsical, imaginative movie, but also a contemplative one. The movie’s main message is that when life becomes too much, nature, and perhaps even our imagination, can soothe our souls and give us the relief we need.
I hope that you liked today’s blog post. Thank you for reading 😊
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