Porco Rosso (Analysis)

We continue with the analysis of the Ghibli studio films, it's time for Porco Rosso, a very peculiar movie to which I have a great appreciation, so we started.

Maybe it's Porco Rosso, (Kurenai no buta), 1992, a lyrical and emotional film from Miyazaki's filmography and, the most elliptical and transcendental. It is also the most mature in spite of the fact that its entire façade is perverted, pastel colors and striking tones, here again integrated into beautiful landscapes that, drawn by hand, intensify the bucolic and evocative character that the subtext of this story suggests.

Of all the films he had filmed until then, Porco Rosso is the least fantastic. It is significant that, if the present film barely reaches 90 minutes, the following ones like Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away far exceed the two hours and contain a number of elements, references and dramatic axes that is overwhelming. It is evident that Miyazaki, stopped to look back, to appreciate the place where he had already arrived and, at the hand of his creative maturity, decided to embark on a new, more ambitious course.

Now, if something emotionally characterizes Miyazaki's films, it is his profound humanism. It is thus the case that the greatest misanthrope that appears in his filmography seems to possess a mysterious capacity, a tremendous charisma, to merit accessions; Porco belongs, also, to the typology of tired heroes, but in the case of a Miyazaki character this does not mean that self-pity appears at any moment. Porco knows already veteran and witness of many battles, has seen the death of face and really only wants to continue enjoying his solitude, without further commitments or companies, although punctually accept some help or the brief presence by his side of the girl Fio. He is therefore a romantic hero.

The animation to be more than 20 years ago is incredible, although in the use of colors you can appreciate its antiquity this is not a point against the film. In addition, music has always been a strong point in the studio Ghibli especially if it is to accompany a scene, maintains a style that changes between the Italian and the French in its instrumentation.

Being a pig serves as an excuse for not engaging, both politically and sentimentally. Thus, Porco feels comfortable with his curse, rejects the ray of optimism in the youth that represents Fio and that could have reintegrated him into the world of humans. That possibility of reintegration is materialized in the kiss that steals the girl and that, perhaps, has broken the spell ... but even in that case it is too late for him and he prefers to disappear. Thus, in the last image of the film, after the credits, we see him lost in the distance on his red plane, like a lonely cowboy.

Rubén Conde

Source of images: Own