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			 A CUTAWAY VIEW OF LIFE

			      Dylan Holmes
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			      23/Oct/2021


/Spirited Away/ is an enchanting film. One of its secrets, I think, is
the way it shows us its particular universe.

When Chihiro enters the bathhouse for the first time, it's through some
neglected service door, not the opulent front gate---just like a child
peeking backstage. When she joins the bathhouse proper, it's as a
worker, not a guest. Notice how these facts serve the story: they
promise us an insider's view into the inner workings of this
world. We'll get to see what only a worker or a curious child would see.

The authenticity of Chihiro's experience (and ours) is underscored by
how much the bathhouse's public-facing business is /explicitly/ a
performance. The guests are treated to a spectacle of glitz, glamour,
and groveling. Chihiro---who is doubly invisible as a child and a lowly
worker---sees the real thing. No one's putting on an act for some
kid. She wanders wherever she likes, into places the public never sees:
the filthy boiler room, the palatial offices, the pig pens, the nursery,
the servants' quarters. She gets hands-on knowledge of how the place
functions. In fact, her success depends on it, most crucially on knowing
about the /people/ who make it work: who's in charge, who flatters who,
where to get uniforms, where the bathwater comes from, what makes people
tick, and so on.

The film nourishes us sort of the way a documentary does. It strips away
pretense and artifice and shows us the inner workings of a little
world. We are drawn into spectating, people-watching, delighting in
details. We learn something about ourselves. Meanwhile the world hums
along, preoccupied with its own vitality.

In fact, the spirit world is benignly, refreshingly indifferent. Chihiro
doesn't sweep in and save everyone from some foretold disaster, for
example. She is a newcomer and as such, plays only a minor role in the
greater dramas of the bathhouse. Many people offer /her/ kindness and
support; she offers some kindnesses in return and solves a few problems
along the way. In the end, that warmth is what lingers.

Any encounter with the unfamiliar is a kind of adventure. Conversely,
all real adventures involve getting to know new people and new places,
wherever they are. You don't have to go far. Sometimes a neighbor's
house is enough. Sometimes you can just go to the movies.