About Kaguya and Sutemaru's flying sequence... - Kaguya-hime no monogatari (2013) Discussion

[–] Wayne_is_better_than_Eastwood 9 years ago

I agree. The entire last act of this film, starting from when *SPOILERS* Kaguya reveals to her parents that she will be returning to the moon, is just incredibly powerful. This is now my favorite Ghibli film and in my top ten films of all time.

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[–] TwiZone 9 years ago

What's your top ten favourite films if you don't mind me asking? Kaguya has managed to make my top 20 of all time. I loved it! I agree with you that the final act truly makes this film special, even though the rest of the film is still great!

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[–] Wayne_is_better_than_Eastwood 9 years ago

I don't have an official list, but these are some of my very favorites that I rated a 9 or 10:

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
Only Yesterday
Pom Poko
Spirited Away
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Roman Holiday
The Apartment
It Happened One Night
Gone with the Wind
It's a Wonderful Life
12 Angry Men
Noah
The Hunt
Waiting Alone
A Christmas Story
Titanic
The Prestige
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Dead Man

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[–] TwiZone 9 years ago

Cool list there! Here's my top 20 since I mentioned it:

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey
2. Vertigo
3. Laputa: Castle in the Sky
4. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
5. Spirited Away
6. The Elephant Man
7. Saving Private Ryan
8. Inception
9. The Castle of Cagliostro
10. Brazil
11. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
12. Modern Times
13. Princess Mononoke
14. Groundhog Day
15. The Toy Story Trilogy
16. It's a Wonderful Life
17. Grave of the Fireflies
18. City Lights
19. Fantasia
20. The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

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[–] Wayne_is_better_than_Eastwood 9 years ago

Cool list! Since I have nothing better to do, here are my opinions of the movies in your list:

1. Tried to watch it a long time ago and fell asleep. Will have to try it again.
2. Thought it was decent but not one of Hitchcock's best works. It dragged a bit. My favorite Hitchcock films are Rear Window and Rebecca.
3. Great movie but not one of my favorite Ghibli's. I tend to prefer Ghibli's more intimate, character driven works rather than the large-scale fantasy ones.
4. Some of my favorite movies ever!
5. Easily Miyazaki's best movie and one of my all-time favorites.
6. Loved it. Would place it somewhere in my top 100.
7. Thought it was good but not great. Nothing special for me. Preferred Schindler's List.
8. Thought it was great, but The Prestige is my favorite Nolan movie. Inception might have a place in my top 100.
9. Thought it was fun and entertaining, but by no means one of Miyazaki's best works.
10. Haven't seen it. Probably should.
11. On par with Castle in the Sky. A great movie, but I found the character of Nausicaa to be an uninteresting protagonist.
12. Have to admit I got a bit bored during this. I much prefer The General with Buster Keaton.
13. I would place it above Laputa and Nausicaa as a great movie, but found it rather long-winded and tedious.
14. Yet to watch this.
15. Love these movies, especially Toy Story 3, which I actually might place somewhere in my top 20.
16. One of my all-time favorites. A nearly flawless movie in my opinion. James Stewart is great.
17. Easily one of the saddest movies I've seen. Great movie, ranks somewhere in the middle of the Ghibli canon.
18. Haven't seen it. Sadly, Modern Times is the only Chaplin movie I've watched.
19. Tried to watch it a long time ago. Fell asleep. Will give it another go.
20. Amazing movie, obviously. My favorite Ghibli film.

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[–] TwiZone 9 years ago

Thanks for your giving your opinion on my favourites. Obviously, we differ quite a bit on some of the choices. 2001 is definitely an experience film. It's not for everyone, but mainly as an experience, I thought it was mind blowing. Rear Window and Rebecca are great too, but I love the atmosphere and other-worldly feeling of Vertigo. As for Laputa, I totally see what you mean. The large-scale adventure films are my personal favourites from Ghibli, which is why Laputa, Cagliostro, Nausicaa and Mononoke are all in my top 5 from Miyazaki. It's interesting that you found Modern Times boring because I found The General to be really boring and repetitive personally. Interesting that you found Nausicaa to be an uninteresting character because I found her to be very interesting. As for Fantasia, it sort of goes back to what I said about 2001. I'm glad you agree on some of the choices though. It goes to show how different opinions can be sometimes.

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[–] cinema_forever19 9 years ago

I like your list TwiZone, a lot of those are my favorites. I've been working on my "Top Movies" list but here is my current top 10.

1. The Godfather I & II
2. Modern Times
3. Taxi Driver
4. Das Boot
5. Once Upon a Time in the West
6. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
7. 2001: A Space Odyssey
8. M
9. La Grande Illusion
10. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Without mercy, man is like a beast. http://www.imdb.com/user/ur17781887/ratings?start=1&v

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[–] TwiZone 9 years ago

Thanks a lot cinema_forever19. Nice to see my favourite film in your top 10. It doesn't matter to me that some people find it boring. I think it's an amazing experience.

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[–] Sook-Yongsheng 9 years ago

Does anybody else believe this is perhaps one of the most powerfully beautiful sequences ever made in film?

Yes, absolutely.

The Tale of The Princess Kaguya, I'm convinced, is not just another film, it's an event. It's a masterpiece.

I absolutely agree again.

I am also getting a really bad feeling that Princess Kaguya is going to be snubbed for awards, and it will be a crime.

[Edited on 1/15: Glad to see that I was wrong about the snubbing -- at least for the Oscar nom]

Birdman: 9
The Imitation Game: 9
Mr. Turner: 10
Foxcatcher: 9

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[–] JacintoCupboard 9 years ago

It's not a crime, nor even a bad thing. Altho there might be accountants who can quantify the commercial value of awards, from an artistic and cultural perspective they are ephemeral and pointless.

Beethoven and da Vinci didn't have much in their trophy cabinets. They and their work are diminished not a jot as a result.

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[–] Sook-Yongsheng 9 years ago

Hey, whatever.

I'm simply glad Kaguya got the Oscar nom.

Birdman: 9
The Imitation Game: 9
Mr. Turner: 10
Two Days, One Night: 9

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[–] quasimodox 9 years ago

I agree with your every words.

Happiness, regret, peaceful, freedom... the mixed feeling of that scene is just overwhelming... It hits me so hard I had to catch my breath, and it's not sadness that hits me, it's how beautiful it is.

The Tale of The Princess Kaguya is about life. It's Isao Takahata's master piece that will be remembered in the history of animation films.

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[–] silentninja 9 years ago

I'm not too sure about all the masterpiece claims for this movie.

It's about a girl that gets forced to live in a materialistic world, and occupied with nonsensical materialistic things to please her father. This is a terrible man that seems only concerned with himself for eight tenths of the movie (a little bit at the beginning and at the end).

Princess Kaguya then having to leave the earth is a good thing. She was forced to become someone she wasn't.

I liked the things about nature, but the middle portion of the movie was too long and focused on her becoming a princess and marrying. She was miserable the whole time, so why would the viewer feel sad she had to go back home? I thought that was bittersweet, but more on the sweet side. Earth and life with that dad sucked.

So in response to the end sequence, it was very good but rather short and welcomed in my view in terms of the plot. I was rooting for her to get away from this horrible place.

Why did the moon people look like Hindu gods?

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[–] quasimodox 9 years ago

The scene in this discussion is not the ending, its the scene which Kaguya and Sutemaru fly together.

The moon people are based on gods from Buddhism, perhaps that's why they look like Hindu gods. I believe the ending represents death. (Similar to how angels come and take people to heaven) In Buddhism, people reincarnate, forget their past life and start as new.

Keep in mind, the story happened in old Japanese time, which is full of manners and rules may seem insignificant and unreasonable by nowadays western society. However, the father is doing what he thinks is the best a father can do for his daughter considered by the society in such time and culture. It is also a daughter's duty to follow parents order. They are both doings things out of their love or respect to each other, but it's the situation they are stuck in that brings suffering and regrets, which is how life is sometimes, we don't always get what we want. The flying sequence is beautifully animated to represent the freedom from all the suffering and regrets, which is why I for one believe this is a master piece.

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[–] nttrung1611 9 years ago

Yes. That scene is stunning, better than CGI animated film. Though I didn't cry but I got chills, what a sad and beautiful film.

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[–] bkbirge 9 years ago

Just saw this and the praise it gets is completely deserved. It doesn't hurt that the source material has stood the test of time but the realization of it is a stunning achievement.

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[–] Anubislair 9 years ago

nope. did noone else cringe over the fact sutemaru was ready to abandon his wife and child to run away with kaguya lol? after he wakes up and just picks up his child like nothing ever happened i was like, really?

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[–] Wayne_is_better_than_Eastwood 9 years ago

This has already been discussed at length on another thread. Yes, we all noticed. It is made quite clear that Sutemaru was dreaming. Did you miss the part where he wakes up and says something along the lines of "it was all a dream?" I really don't see what is so strange/wrong about a man with a wife and a kid dreaming about running off with his childhood sweetheart who happens to be a beautiful princess. Do you really think that most married guys (or girls) with families don't have these kinds of thoughts? Doesn't make them a bad person, just makes them human.

Not every character has to be "perfect". Just because Sutemaru is a flawed person who dreams about running away from his family doesn't make the scene any less emotional. This is what I love about Takahata's films. His characters are real, with flaws, and not always completely likable. Some people seem to prefer it when all the characters are perfect Mary-Sues, and I guess Takahata's films weren't made for these people.

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[–] pinobeppe 9 years ago

Agreed, it is an event.

* spoiler below *

To me, it's the moon people flying sequence to be incredibly fascinating.
From the moment earth people wait for them in silence, to the moment Kaguya is magically dragged on their cloud and the music ends.
I must have seen it like 30+ times by now (not kidding), and counting.
I just don't seem to be able to get enough of it.
It completely captivates me. It is perfect and I feel grateful for every moment of it.

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[–] classic-melody-206-77894 9 years ago

I have to agree.. the music that is being played in that scene was beautiful and so fitting.

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