There is something about the films by Hayao Miyazaki that makes them feel timeless. Whether it’s their captivating storylines, loveable characters, iconic animation style, or the profound message the films convey, his work continues to resonate with audiences all over the world. “Princess Mononoke,” in particular, has always been the film that I have enjoyed the most. Its strong environmentalist message combined with an engaging story creates one of the most impactful films that is still relevant — if not even more so — today.
Set in the late Muromachi period (1336 – 1573), the film follows Ashitaka, a prince from the Emishi people, after he is cursed by a demon, and forced to search for a cure. During his journey, he becomes involved in a struggle between nature and industrialization when he meets Lady Eboshi, the head of a remote village called Iron Town, who seeks to create an industrial empire by draining the forest of its resources. On the opposite side of the struggle is San (the titular “Princess Mononoke”), a human girl raised by wolves who helps defend the forest from the workers of Iron Town, and harbors a hatred for all humans, particularly Lady Eboshi.
Something that is common in almost every one of Miyazaki’s films is complex characters that are neither good nor bad, with conflicting motives. Although Lady Eboshi may be destroying the forest, the film makes it clear that she is not a terrible person. In fact, she has done a lot of good, as she created Iron Town to be a safe haven for former prostitutes and lepers to live and work, and she is shown to care deeply about them. This also applies to San, who is well-intentioned, yet she is shown to be reckless and, at times, unempathetic and heartless, unwilling to see the other side of the conflict. Ashitaka is overly heroic and stubborn, and his attempts to remain neutral in the conflict become difficult as tensions between the two sides worsen as the film progresses. With no clear hero or villain in the story, “Princess Mononoke” attempts to look at the environmental crisis through an unbiased lens and presents multiple arguments and motives for both sides of the conflict, which are neither right nor wrong.
The big question at the center of the film is this: is it possible for humans and nature to coexist together? Throughout the film, the conflict between humans and the forest seems to be at a standstill until Lady Eboshi decides to do something unthinkable: kill the “Shishigami,” or Deer God, who is the spirit of life and death and is responsible for keeping the forest balanced. She does this in order to strengthen political ties with the emperor, who believes that consuming the Shishigami’s head will give him immortality. She succeeds in killing the Shishigami as it is transforming into its second form, the Night-Walker, by shooting off its head. From there, Ashitaka and San are tackled with an urgent mission to find its head and restore peace before it destroys the forest and the land surrounding it.
With this final sequence, the film shows that human greed will only lead to destruction. Lady Eboshi, blinded by greed and hubris, shows that she will go to unthinkable lengths in order for her village to thrive. In the end, it is only when the human characters learn to live in harmony with the forest that peace is restored to the land; Ashitaka stays to help rebuild Iron Town but promises that he will visit San in the forest, and Lady Eboshi promises to start over and build a better village.
At its heart, “Princess Mononoke” argues that nature has the right to exist independently from humans and that there must be a balance between humans and nature. If humans continue to let greed and hubris blind them, then it will only destroy the resources that they depend on. As we look at the environmental crises of today, the message of “Princess Mononoke” still holds true 25 years later, and is perhaps even more relevant today than ever before.
If you have not gotten the chance to see “Princess Mononoke,” I would highly recommend that you do, as it is one of the most powerful depictions of the struggle and balance between humans and nature.
