FILM

Princess Mononoke
Dir: Hayao Miyazaki
Studio Ghibli, 1997

With the June 10 release of Japanese anime pioneer Hayao Miyazaki's latest tour de force, Howl's Moving Castle, it's fitting to take another look at the film that captivated western audiences and solidified Mr Miyazaki's reputation as one of the masters of the genre.

Princess Mononoke was released to North American audiences in 1999 — two years after it captured the imagination and attention of the fickle Japanese public. The film won the Japanese equivalent of the Best Picture Oscar and became the highest-grossing domestic film in the country's history at the time of its theatre run.

When it hit North American soil it gave audiences a taste of the beauty, humanism and mysticism that can be seen in all of Mr Miyazaki's work.

Set in 14th century Japan during the Muromachi Period, Princess Mononoke tells the tale of man versus nature and how the destruction of the environment can wreak havoc on the world's delicate balance. Ashitaka, a young warrior from an isolated village is bitten by a wild boar possessed by an evil demon spirit. He sets out on a journey to find the root of the evil spirit and the forest god Shishigami who might possibly be able to cure the infection caused by the boar bite. His journey takes him deep into the forest, where he bears witness to a mining village's wanton destruction of nature and the conflicts that ensue between man, animals and gods. This lavishly animated feature is one that both adults and kids can enjoy.

— Abigail Sevigny

You might also like Akira directed by Katsuhiro Otomo

BOOK

SMALL CHANGE
Elizabeth Hay
Porcupine's Quill, 1997

Small Change is a wonderful collection of stories about a topic fundamental to all of us: friendship. The narration shifts between first, second and third person but the point of view remains that of the central character, Beth.

While we often define periods in our lives through our romantic relationships, our friendships determine a good part of our psychic development. But don't come to this book expecting a heart-warming Oprah book club pick; Ms Hay uncovers the darker side of women's friendships, uncovering how best pals use and abuse each other, often just because they can.

Since Beth is reflecting on events with mature, almost literary distance, Ms Hay keeps her handling detached. Beth the writer identifies with the experiences of literary figures and characters like Zola, Colette, Thurber and Lucy Maude Montgomery's Jane of Lantern Hill. She places these icons in her world of "domestic fatigue" ("The Kiss"), gleaning wisdom from them but unable to make it change the pattern of her doomed relationships.

In "The Fight" she writes: "In my mind I saw salmon, gigantic turtles, and myself, refusing to learn from experience and throwing ourselves against the same old dam, plopping down on the same old beach, returning to the same old wound — the scene where friendship is born and goes wrong." In the final story, "Several Losses," Ms Hay describes the process as "the art of extrication" and this is possibly the best appraisal of the style that earned Small Change a Governor General's Award nomination.

— Gillian Woodford

You might also like Lives of Girls and Women by Alice Munro

POP

I am the Cosmos
Chris Bell
Rykodisc, 1992

Being Chris Bell must've taken its toll. Here's a little background into the Memphis-based singer-songwriter's tortured world: he was a severely depressed heroin addict, a very much in-the-closet homosexual and a devout southern Christian — which led him to feel an all consuming guilt over his rock 'n roll lifestyle. He died tragically in 1978 in a car crash. He was only 27. But he did leave behind a strong catalogue of songs both with power pop pioneers Big Star and his darker solo work.

In his lifetime he only released one solo single. "I am the Cosmos" was culled from recordings he made throughout the mid-70s; it was finally released in 1992. The album, of the same name, is replete with shimmering guitars, bright melodies and angst-ridden lyrics. The entire record is strong, but standouts include "Look up" and the melodically and structurally unpredictable title track where Mr Bell's lyrics go from desperation to self-loathing to weakness to Beatles pastiche effortlessly.

"Never wanna be alone
I hate to have to take you home
Wanted too much to say no, no
Yeah, yeah, yeah"

Mr Bell's work with his original group Big Star in the early 70s cast a long shadow over much of the better rock 'n roll of the last 30 years. REM, Teenage Fanclub, the Replacements and many others have cited Chris Bell as an influence. And after toiling in hit-less obscurity during his lifetime, his song "In the Street" was rerecorded and used as the theme song of popular sitcom That '70s Show. But the material on the long-buried treasure I am the Cosmos is even stronger than his contributions to Big Star and stands as some of the finest guitar pop ever recorded.

— Abe Konigsberg

You might also like Songs of Northern Britain by Teenage Fanclub and Murmur by REM