not the movie about the horse!

Last weekend Marc and I joined the other Marc and some other Bronx Science recoverees for Spirited Away (that link has sound, FYI). Once I got past the fact that the audience reminded me of a hipster graphic novel convention, the movie was hauntingly wonderful. The Japanimation thing isn't really my scene, so I can't really vouch for how it compares to other films of a similar genre, but according to the website, it was the most successful film in the history of Japanese cinema, so, you know, it would probably fare pretty well compared to all those other movies. I was totally sucked in, and haven't really been able to get it out of my mind. It was beautiful, in that slightly-fantastic-yet-realistic way, and the story was completely engaging. A young girl, Chihiro, and her family get lost while searching for their new house in a new community, and happen upon an ancient Shinto shrine slash bath house to the gods. I think I lost a little bit of the story for not knowing the cultural significance of a lot of the god characters, but that didn't keep me from getting wrapped up in Chihiro's plight as she fought to save her parents (who are turned to pigs for their gluttony) from the evil sorceress who runs the bathhouse and runs the fantastic other-world environment. Highly recommended.