A very poignant movie ... it starts off with humour but quickly takes a deep dive into the sad and often desperate lives of the lost, lonely, struggling and abused. These life experiences can leave us feeling like we are alone on our own planet in some dark and obscure part of the universe. One of the characters ... a client of Chihiro ... said we are all on another planet ... separate from each other. And yet ... does it always have to be that way? I think this movie both agrees and challenges that notion.

Chihiro seems to be a magnet to members of the community that have been marginalised by their struggles etc ... people who are alone on their own 'planet'. Chihiro, a 'marginalised' person herself, brings these people together with her unique sense of playfulness, honesty, kindness and non-judgemental acceptance of people just the way they are ... even though she herself seems to feel an emptiness, that she is 'not from this planet' and separate from 'her kind of people'. It really is a skill to break down the 'interplanatary' barriers, but she does it. I wonder if kindness and understanding and acceptance have a lot to do with that ... it is worth thinking about.

Having connected this disparate group of people with each other, they find their grounding and moments of joy ... and from that place, reach out to embrace and strengthen others. It really is a wonderful catalytical reaction on a human scale, with Chihiro as the catalyst ... and just like a 'catalyst', she herself seems 'unmoved' by the process that has brought them together and uplifted everyone up from the darkness. Chihiro then moves on and disappears out of their lives into another set of lives ... a bit like a cool refreshing breeze ... here one moment and gone the next ...

The last scene of Chihiro gazing off in the distances is moving ... it seems that Chihiro was affected by the process afterall, their seemed to be a 'spark' of life in her gaze ... a thread of connection forming with the world around her ... the gap of separation slowly narrowing. If you are feeling like you are on another planet ... this might be a nice movie to watch ... "you're wonderful just as you are regardless of what planet you come from" ... and at some point ... you, yourself may come to realise and feel that to your core.

I really liked the cinematography ... all those outdoor shots were just beautiful ... the sunshine, the abandoned places ... all really added to the vibe of the story. I enjoyed the actors too ... Arimura Kasumi did a marvellous job bringing out that those difficult human emotions ... Shimada Tetta was so believable as a 'latch key' kid.

The movie was well done, heavy going sometimes, but deeply moving.