The Tale of the Princess Kaguya/Analysis
WARNING! There are unmarked Spoilers ahead. Beware.
The Arcadia lifestyle
It's clear that the film has quite an affinity for living In Harmony with Nature and the Arcadia lifestyle. This is demonstrated via the many shots which the film spends looking at greenery, distant hills, trees, or flowers. These shots empathize realistic movement and physics, aiming to immerse audiences within the film's world by bringing elements in from the real world. The film's minimalist art style strips out any unnecessary distractions, leaving behind only the most important details from reality. Audiences are immersed into the film because they can clearly see elements from their world, making the film feel believable, real, and lived in. In addition, the stripping out of all but the most necessary information means that audiences have less to be distracted with, and that they can focus on what the filmmaker wants them to focus on. The result of this immersion, combined with the frequency and detail of the shots, is the romanticism of forests and the wildlife. It makes wildlife seem appealing, allowing audiences to understand Princess Kaguya's motives, and why she wishes to return to the forests.
A conflict is introduced when Princess Kaguya is forced to move into the capital by her parents. This results in an internal conflict where Princess Kaguya wants to enjoy Ghibli Hills and playing in the forest, but her status and expectation as a member of royalty prohibits her from doing so. Thus begins her process of being a Rebellious Princess, where the Princess does not do what she is told, choosing to play around and have fun instead of attending to the customs of the nobility. While she is initially amused by her new home, being forced to observe the customs of princesses gets to her. This is evident by how she refuses to paint her teeth black, or to pull her eyelashes out, and in how she struggles to focus on the lessons delivered to her. Unlike the depiction of nature, royal life is depicted as artificial and contrived, where people are forced to adhere to traditions, with little free will. The interesting shots of nature are now gone, removing a source of peace and serenity in the film. All of these factors establish the inferiority of life as a princess compared to life as a humble bamboo cutter's daughter.
Given that nature is established as a romantic and positive force, contrasting with the contrived nature of royalty, the film communicates Princess Kaguya's motivation for running away, and wishing to return to nature. Thus, the film allows audiences to understand her motivation when she runs away with Sutemaru. The joys of returning to nature is portrayed as pure euphoria, as the two characters are shown to be flying through the landscape, reflective of their action of running away, as well as their happiness.
The aforementioned scene, however, is tragic due to the knowledge that Princess Kaguya will have to return to the moon eventually, adding a layer of sadness to the scene as audiences know that this is only temporary. Whereas in the capital, there is at least the opportunity to enjoy cherry blossoms or run into the surrounding forests, on the moon there is nothing. The only constant is the white colour of the surface, and not a hint of green is present. Arcadia is established to be a pleasant lifestyle, and the film shows that this is what Princess Kaguya wants. Thus, the eventual return to the moon is made more tragic once audiences realize what Princess Kaguya is leaving behind.
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