The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness

The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness delivers a unique behind-the-scenes glimpse of the Japanese Ghibli studios, with a specific focus on idiosyncratic director Miyazaki Hayao and his exceptional methods and daily rituals. Filmmaker Sunada Mami follows him, producer Suzuki Toshio and other Ghibli employees during the production – from drawing the elaborate storyboards to finding the right voice-actors – of Miyazaki’s most recent and possibly last film: The Wind Rises (2013).
The documentary does not only offer an intimate portrait of the director as an eccentric, charming and hardworking artist, but also subtly lets through a shimmer of the dark sides of creativity: Miyazaki, a self-proclaimed ‘man of the twentieth century’, seems to represent a craftsmanship on the verge of extinction. In combination with reflections on the extraordinary history of dream factory Ghibli, this results in a film that is not only a must-see for seasoned animation-lovers, but also an accessible introduction for newcomers.

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