El reino de los sueños y la locura

THE KINGDOM OF DREAMS AND MADNESS is a documentary exploring the dying days of Studio Ghibli and in particular lead animator Hayao Miyazaki. Set during the making of THE WIND RISES, this is a reflective journey, tinged with sadness and nostalgia, that sees the famed cartoonist looking back over his life and work as well as discussing the challenges of both present and future.

Needless to say, this is a must see for anybody who considers themselves a fan of Studio Ghibli. Unlike western-made documentaries, this takes the straightforward approach of simply grabbing a camera, following Miyazaki and his crew around, and asking the occasional question. The unobtrusive approach works well, somehow getting you into the heart and soul of the studio, and it feels refreshing for there to be no talking head interviews, no movie clips interspersed into the narrative. Somehow, THE KINGDOM OF DREAMS AND MADNESS manages to capture a little of the Studio Ghibli magic itself.

This was a deeply moving look at the work ethic and - dare I say - the spirit of Hayao Miyazaki. Hayao Miyazaki is one of the most inspirational storytellers of all time, and if you haven't already seen his movies, I recommend checking out at least one if not all of them if you're a regular filmgoer or an aspiring filmmaker. The Ghibli movies were an eye-opening experience for me growing up, and even now, I consider them to be very influential, especially those by Miyazaki. Knowing how special they were, and given how nostalgic I was feeling, I really really wanted to cry after watching this documentary, as silly as that sounds. I hope Miyazaki finishes his next movie, 'How Do You Live?' I look forward to seeing it if it comes out.

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.

Overall, I really liked this documentary, but it does have some problems I can't ignore. As someone who loves Studio Ghibli, it was really cool to see how the films I love are made, even if it only shows creation scenes from The Wind Rises. Seeing how animation legends like Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata go about their days, I felt, were fairly interesting. What I didn't like, however, was that it didn't go super deep into how other Ghibli films were made, it doesn't go that deep into how the company was formed, and Miyazaki and Takahata never really talk about their own films. I would have loved to hear what inspired them to make those films and what it meant to them personally. But, then again, I don't think they were even going for that. I just think the movie would have been more interesting if they had done what I wanted. Anyway, despite these flaws, I would still recommend this movie. Only to those who love Ghibli though. Everyone else will be quite bored.

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.