Uplifting and Depressing Movies (Review)

These two movies are the ones that I think of when talking about both this extremely different themes, an uplifting and a depressing movie. I will talk about "Spirited Away",  by Hayao Miyazaki, as the uplifting movie, and "Your Name", by Makoto Shinkai, as the depressing one.

"Spirited Away" follows Chihiro, a ten-year-old girl that is on a trip with her parents and, unknowingly, enters into a magical world. As they venture into this strange land, she losses her parents. When she finds them she discovers that both of them have turned into pigs. Her journey begins as she tries to find a way to turn them back to normal. What I find uplifting about the film is the charm that all the characters have. It makes you care and sympathy them as they are all shown as meaningful and human-like despite most of them being "monsters". Another reason why I love this film so much is its rich and believable world that we are brought in.

"Your Name" on the other hand, is both joyful and depressing at the same time. It tells the story of Mitsuha, a high school girl living in the suburbs of Japan, which isn't satisfied with her life. She wishes to become a high-school boy in her next life. In a sudden turn of events, her wishes come true when she begins to switch bodies intermittently with Taki, a high school boy from Tokyo. It's a heartwarming which turns into a depressing one in the second act, which I don't want to spoil. The bound that the movie makes the audience share with its charismatic protagonists is unparalleled with nothing I've ever seen. Making the things that happen to them even more heartbreaking.

To conclude, both these movies are hand drawn animated, which tends to throw off some people for their cartoony style, but I would thoroughly suggest giving them a try, as you might end up loving this two films. Since even animated films can have the same impact, or even more, as a common film to make you feel delighted or sorrowful.