Into the Forest...

     This past week I watched Snow White and The Huntsman with a dear friend. I found myself really looking forward to this film; even though I am not a fan of Kristen Stewart or Chris Hemsworth, I adore the story of Snow White, no doubt brought on by my love for Walt Disney’s classic interpretation of the Grimm’s fairy tale.
     Kristen Stewart is such a strange little actress. I find her approach to acting very stale, shallow and her interpretation of character lacks emotional depth. I feel no love for her characters—and there’s something lacking when the viewer doesn’t care if a character dies or not, but THAT’S another blog altogether. J I will say that she is a wonderfully physical actress—I enjoyed and was impressed by her action-orientated scenes, particularly the scene in which she escapes from the castle and flees into the Dark Forest. The sweeping camera lines, disjointed close-ups and Stewart’s physicality made for a very enjoying scene in the movie where I felt pure anxiety, exhilaration and excitement.
     One of the most visually stirring and just simply beautiful scenes in the film is when Snow White and the Huntsman are taken to the Fairy Sanctuary by the dwarves. The Sanctuary is located deep in the darkest part of the Dark Forest—the sacred home of nature incarnate and far beyond the touch of humans and the evil reign of the Queen. If the Queen represents death, then Snow White is life itself and while hiding in the glen, she encounters the King of the Wood, the mythical White Hart who bows to her and in so doing blesses her and charges her with the fate to bring rebirth to a dying world. 

     It’s a beautiful and stirring scene that presents many intricate and subtle layers with no attempt at explanation. And no explanation is needed or desired, because it would ruin the mystery and beauty of the emotional core of the scene.
     At least, it WOULD have been beautiful and stirring if it hadn’t already been done before.
     This pivotal scene from Snow White and The Huntsman is almost directly stolen from a VASTLY superior film—Hayao Miyazaki’s Mononoke-Hime (Princess Mononoke). I felt slightly affronted when watching that scene, especially since it seems to be the one that “everyone” is talking about.

"The Fairies' Sanctuary and The White Hart" / Snow White and The Huntsman / (c) Universal Studios

TOP: Realm of the Forest Spirit / from Mononoke Hime / (c) Artimis07
BOTTOM: Shishigami's Glen / Mononoke Hime / (c) Studio Ghibli

     Notice the sacred island with a large tree in the center of a small lake? Notice how the other animals do not approach the center of the lake? Only the chosen (Snow White/Ashitaka/San) can approach the sacred dwelling place of the Forest Spirit without perishing.
     Snow White receives the blessing of the White Hart because she deserves it--she's pure and innocent and destined to heal the world. Ashitaka receives his blessing because he is unworthy; he is cursed by his human foils of hate, pride and ambition, yet the Shishigami sees his noble heart and yearnings for peace, compromise and understanding, and so chooses him to be the guardian and future of the human world.

Shishigami, Ashitaka and San / Mononoke Hime / (c) Studio Ghibli

Snow White and The White Hart / Snow White and The Huntsman / (c) Universal Studios

     It makes me wonder if true invention and creativity exist anymore, especially in film, which has become so stale, trite, shallow and just plain tired. To manufacture a cheap imitation of such a beautiful and complex film ruffled my feathers. Ashitaka and the Princess Mononoke (San) herself were exceedingly more developed and interesting that the characters of Snow White and the Huntsman combined. It’s strange, but it’s like those little animated character have souls—souls that are deep and lush and very real. Is it odd that their human counterparts cannot compare? That...kind of makes me sad.
     Even the respective symbolisms in Snow White and THe Huntsman align with similar settings and characters in Princess Mononoke...except they just come across as cheap knockoffs. Off the top of my head: The Dark Forest and the Forest of the Shishigami, (humans are terrified of it and will not enter), Faries and Kodama, The White Hart and the Shishigami...and then there are the overarching themes of life conquering death, nature overtaking industry/lifelessness, the weak finding their strength, redemption (The Boar King and Queen Ravenna), and so on. Even the curious and mischievous fairies are reminiscent of Miyazaki’s kodama (“tree spirits”).

Faeries / Snow White and The Huntsman / (c) Universal Studios

Kodama ("Tree Spirits") / Mononoke Hime / (c) Studio Ghibli

     The relationship between Ashitaka, San and the Spirit of the Forest is at times antagonistic, neutral and respectful and this complex relationship is communicated with absolutely no words at all. The Spirit of the Forest is more than just a personification of nature to bless man (which seems a little arrogant on man’s behalf); he is the personification of a world that has given live to, blessed and tormented man, and man has repaid him in reverence and destruction.
     Oh, the cultural symbolism (Japanese and world) in Princess Mononoke is so rich and thick I could devote a whole book to it. Even the hero’s name, Ashitaka, isn’t an actual Japanese name. It’s actually read as Ashita-ka, which literally translates to “tomorrow?” or “Is this our future?” And when I watch a movie like Snow White and The Huntsman I wonder about the future of fantasy cinema: the good, the bad and the ripped-off.