Post #923029

Miyazaki films are, in my opinion, the best anti-war films because they — much like the videogame Papers, Please — focus on the other aspects of war that isn’t the actual war itself, thereby giving you the horrors of war without needing to glamorise it Most western-made¹ anti-war films end up being unintentionally pro-war because in order to show their heroes and protagonists acting heroic in the face of their adversity, they show warfare in a way that is a spectacle. Films like 1917, Saving Private Ryan and even Full Metal Jacket fall into this. But since Miyazaki films, such as his adaptation of Howl’s Moving Castle, do not focus directly on the war itself, they focus on the individuals and groups they affect, they are better able to show the horrors of war. From the soldiers turning to sludge monsters, to showcasing the horrible aftermath on landscapes, and the political machinations of those who seek to perpetuate state violence ¹there are anti-war films written and directed by non-Americans who do not fall into this trap of spectacle