Rating: 4/5
A god-turned-demon attacks a tribe, staining a boy with its hatred. Seeking a cure, he seeks the spirit of the forest. In the process, he meets the town destroying the forest and creating these demons. But it isn’t as simple as all that, as prejudices and wounds blind both sides
Though the forest and humanity fight one another, the boy seeks a third path where the two can live in harmony. To persuade them, he must walk through wars and as a last resort, join them
The violence is way more intense than I thought it would be. I knew there was blood, but arms and heads fly
The pacing is pretty perfect, not giving up too much time for the battle scenes and making plenty of room for the awe of nature that lives in so many Miyazaki movies
Not one of my favorites of Miyazaki — I prefer the stuff without fighting — but it’s a beautiful and somewhat nuanced movie about coexistence, something the Avatars of the world could stand to learn