Film · 1997
Princess Mononoke
もののけ姫
Searching for a cure to his curse, Ashitaka reaches an ironworking town fighting the gods of a nearby forest. Lady Eboshi protects the town's people; San fights for the wolves who raised her. The conflict gives each side lives to defend, without making their interests easy to reconcile.
Among the ironworkers are people living with leprosy, a detail Miyazaki linked to his visits to a nearby sanatorium. The town is a livelihood for people pushed outside wider society as well as a source of damage to the forest. Its weapons and its care for workers belong to the same settlement.
Ashitaka joins the women at Irontown's bellows, crouching at the handles while workers gather around him, some grinning at the visitor's effort. Their shared task makes the settlement a place of human company as well as production. Its weapons threaten the forest, but the people around the bellows have a home and livelihood to defend.
Standalone film · Approx. 133 min · one film
Standalone 1997 animated feature directed by Hayao Miyazaki; no earlier film required.
