NationStates Jolt Archive

Recently watched the film "Spirited Away" again. I'm about to go offline and get some sleep (i know, i'm weak and a n00b) but i thought i'd post first and fish out this thread later to see results (hopefully).

Can anyone of you wise and wonderful NSers tell me what the "No Face" guy is meant to show? On the dvd the director was quoted as saying something about "there's a little [Japanese name for "No Face"] in us all" so i'm assuming there's thought behind him, he's not just random.

It's just watching it i can't help feel there's a moral or something, but i can't figure out what. :confused:

Anyway, i'm off to bed, nighty night. :)

EDIT: Oh yeah, and the river spirit covered in mud with all the junk stuck inside him, that is actually a reference to the state of modern rivers, right? Or have i got that completely wrong?

Spirited Away = environmentalist propaganda. The moral is to not throw trash into a river, or else the river god will become this huge walking pile of trash which comes into your house and eats all your food and demand that you give him a bath.

The River Spirit is a different character. No offence, but saying Miyazaki is only environmental propoganda is pretty disingenious. His insight into human relationships and emotion is stunningly portrayed in every film. See Grave of the Firefly's. Although, he certainly does believe the environment is the base of all things and should be preserved - it is inextricably linked to human life and survival after all.

No-face: Is the 'enabler' in all of us, whose Moral is 'offer freely of yourself but beware of expecting anything in return'. Especially mean't in the emotional sense, ie. Offer your love freely to someone but if you offer it only to recieve love or get something in return then it's false. Which is why all the gold melts in the end. It's actually a little more complicated than this so I won't over-load you (or myself). Just remember Miyazaki approaches all his subject matter from both a physical and emotional level, with the same act having multiple meanings

Hope this helps :)

The River Spirit is a different character. No offence, but saying Miyazaki is only environmental propoganda is pretty disingenious. His insight into human relationships and emotion is stunningly portrayed in every film. See Grave of the Firefly's. Although, he certainly does believe the environment is the base of all things and should be preserved - it is inextricably linked to human life and survival after all.

No-face: Is the 'enabler' in all of us, whose Moral is 'offer freely of yourself but beware of expecting anything in return'. Especially mean't in the emotional sense, ie. Offer your love freely to someone but if you offer it only to recieve love or get something in return then it's false. Which is why all the gold melts in the end. It's actually a little more complicated than this so I won't over-load you (or myself). Just remember Miyazaki approaches all his subject matter from both a physical and emotional level, with the same act having multiple meanings

Hope this helps :)

It says on the DVD that (and I'm paraphrasing here) No-Face just wants to be accepted but doesn't have the means to do so. So he tries giving stuff to people. The frog (who gets eaten first) was mean to No-Face until he realized No-Face could make "gold". But Sen was the only one who was really nice to him (he stops being crazy for a bit after she turns down the large pile of gold). You can get what you want from that.

That's a really valid way of lookoing at it... was that the Disney release DVD or the orginal Japanese??

I watched that movie once last year. The only thing I remember is that the girl running down the flight of stairs looked like a monkey.

I watched that movie once last year. The only thing I remember is that the girl running down the flight of stairs looked like a monkey.

lol - It's a pretty trippy film

Yeah apparently her monkey like form is because of her bandy legs, which is meant to show her instability in the world. It's awesome animation when she runs across that pipe whicih is falling off the wall.

Recently watched the film "Spirited Away" again. I'm about to go offline and get some sleep (i know, i'm weak and a n00b) but i thought i'd post first and fish out this thread later to see results (hopefully).

Can anyone of you wise and wonderful NSers tell me what the "No Face" guy is meant to show? On the dvd the director was quoted as saying something about "there's a little [Japanese name for "No Face"] in us all" so i'm assuming there's thought behind him, he's not just random.

It's just watching it i can't help feel there's a moral or something, but i can't figure out what. :confused:

Anyway, i'm off to bed, nighty night. :)

EDIT: Oh yeah, and the river spirit covered in mud with all the junk stuck inside him, that is actually a reference to the state of modern rivers, right? Or have i got that completely wrong?

I think the character is on several levels...

As has been pointed out, I think there is a level on which "No Face" is experimenting with acceptance - buying friendship, and being ultimately displeased with the result.

"No Face" is clearly a 'monster' to the other inhabitants of the bathhouse - and so perhaps he/she/it is all about looking at things from an outside perspective, and not being part of things... hence the character has "No Face" within the society, and - on another level - literally no face of 'his' own.

What I, personally, got from "No Face", was the idea of NOT trying to be like other people... he 'absorbed' people around him, and became something 'corrupt'... and didn't gain acceptance until he 'spat them all back out', and became 'himself' again.

As with any film, I think you get out part of what the creator puts into it, and part of what the viewer puts into it. Miyazaki 'paints with very broad strokes', he uses a lot of very open symbolism, and let's PART of the material be a voyage of self-discovery for the viewer. (Or at least, that's how I see it).

Hmmm... interesting. I was certain it was related to the amount he ate, but i couldn't figure out why. Good stuff!

-snip- It's actually a little more complicated than this so I won't over-load you (or myself).
No no, by all means overload me. :)

Hmmm... interesting. I was certain it was related to the amount he ate, but i couldn't figure out why. Good stuff!


No no, by all means overload me. :)

In think that the amount "No Face" eats is something along the same lines as the 'people' he eats.

It doesn't sem to matter how much he eats, he is never satisfied... he is trying to fill a void that just expands to fit. Similarly, he 'absorbs' members of the staff of the bathhouse, but is never 'satisfied' with the result.

There is an interesting dynamic between "No Face" and Sen, since he can't seem to decide whether he wants to love her, or to eat her... perhaps a commentary on obssession? Sen is the person "No Face" idolises... the one person he wants to be near... but then he finds himself wanting to either destroy her, or become her - depending on how you look at it.