Inspired and frustrated by the war on Yugoslavia, and completely disillusioned about humanity’s ability to learn from its mistakes, Hayao Miyazaki shot one of his best films in 1997, which eventually became a blockbuster, the highest-grossing film in Japan of 1997, and also held Japan’s box office record for domestic films until 2001 and “Spirited Away”.

The story takes place into an imaginary version of Japan of the Muromachi period, and revolves around Ashitaka, the last Emishi prince, who, after an attack by a demonized boar god, finds himself infected with an unknown disease. In his effort to find out the reasons for the boar’s demonization and to search for a cure for his ailment, he leaves his village on his red elk, Yakul, beginning his odyssey into a number of unknown territories. As he roams the land, he witnesses the war that takes place all over first-hand,...