Kingdom of Dreams & Madness

Last Wednesday I saw the documentary, The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness. It is about Hayao Miyazaki and the completion of his final film "The Wind Rises" What I really appreciate about the movie was the fact that I felt as if I was getting a pretty genuine glimpse and a better understanding of Miyazaki. As much as I love his animated features, I surprisingly have a limited knowledge of Miyazaki himself. Seeing his daily routine, from arriving at work, stretching with the staff and taking a break on the roof, I got a real sense of how important maintaining a balanced life is to him.

During the film Miyazaki speaks about the animation industry and about the future of Studio Ghibli. Everyone who spoke was reasonably candid about working at Studio Ghibli and with Miyazaki. Sometimes with documentaries like this, artists would do so much praising that it seems disingenuous. That was not the case here. He was not bashed by his employees but you can tell they understand that he is human, though a very important one.

Overall The Kingdom Of Dreams & Madness is extremely poetic from its narration to its visuals. It has encouraged me to seek out some of his productions that I was not previously aware of and even to watch some of the films of the directors that were also mentioned created.

I will close out this post with a quote by Miyazaki that resonated with me as I continue to seek out employment in the animation industry.

Only those who choose the right people to work with will do the work they want.

The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness Trailer

Granted near-unfettered access to the notoriously insular Studio Ghibli, director Mami Sunada follows the three men who are the lifeblood of Ghibli - the eminent director Hayao Miyazaki, the producer Toshio Suzuki, and the elusive and influential "other director" Isao Takahata - over the course of a year as the studio rushes to complete two films, Miyazaki's The Wind Rises and Takahata's The Tale of The Princess Kaguya.

The Wind Rises Trailer

The Wind Rises Official Trailer. A look at the life of Jiro Horikoshi, the man who designed Japanese fighter planes during World War II. Written and Directed by Hayao Miyazaki http://bit.ly/DeadlineSubscribe

The Tale of The Princes Kaguya

Subscribe to TRAILERS: http://bit.ly/sxaw6h Subscribe to COMING SOON: http://bit.ly/H2vZUn Subscribe to INDIE & FILM FESTIVALS: http://bit.ly/1wbkfYg Like us on FACEBOOK: http://goo.gl/dHs73 Follow us on TWITTER: http://bit.ly/1ghOWmt The Tale of The Princess Kaguya Official Extended Trailer (2013) - Studio Ghibli Film HD An old man makes a living by selling bamboo.