Born to Fall

Kaguya-hime's life was filled with punishments and trials. She came to Earth initially to see the trees, beasts, flowers, insects, and birds. Her early life was spent in the pursuit of these simple pleasures, living in a village where the people were kind and she was always in touch with nature. If she had spent her life peacefully in the bamboo forest, it wouldn't be considered a punishment. However, that was merely the beginning of her trials.

First Punishment: Isolation.

After experiencing her dream life, being confined to a mansion in the capital became unbearable. Endless rituals and palace etiquette were also tiresome. What humans consider good often goes against nature. Common people sweat and laugh freely, but a princess does not; beauty meant plucked eyebrows and blackened teeth. Everything about their aesthetics opposed natural beauty. Kaguya-hime was not only separated from the natural scenery of the bamboo forest but also from her natural sense of beauty.

Second Punishment: Heartbreak.

I personally believe that after fleeing into the night, Kaguya-hime died in the snow. However, the ultimate purpose of the punishment was to make her not want to stay on Earth anymore. Therefore, death could not be the end until her will was broken.

After enduring the winter of her life, she ventured into the fields in spring, only to be greeted with worshipful fear from a peasant woman under a cherry tree. Despite her rural upbringing, she was seen as worlds apart from the common folk. This was the first heartbreak, being abandoned by those she considered her own.

Suitors brought treasures representing the natural elements she cherished—trees, beasts, flowers, insects, and birds—but all were artificial imitations. The suitor who presented her with flowers spoke of things that moved her deeply, yet he was just a philanderer. If she had been with him, she would have been discarded like a plucked flower. Everything she yearned for was revealed to be lies, causing her deep guilt for the suitors who lost their lives. These events and emotions piled up, making her realize everything was false—the gifts, people's hearts, even her only refuge. No matter how beautiful and realistic artificial things were, they could never match the perfection of nature. Realizing this, how could she not be disappointed? The world pursued artificial foolishness instead of natural beauty.

Third Punishment: Detachment.

The emperor's presumptuousness made her yearn to leave Earth. At that moment, she contacted the moon and invoked its power. She regained all her memories and no longer needed to be concerned with what had once bound her. But it was too late. She could no longer experience the life she initially sought. Here, the punishment came full circle. She came to Earth to experience worldly life, but now she could no longer touch it. Despite her reluctance and desperate attempts to fix things, she ultimately returned to the moon. This was the complete punishment.

I recommend listening to the symphonic fantasy performed by an orchestra. Despite using Western instruments, the music evokes a distinctly Eastern feel. Joe Hisaishi truly is a genius。

Revisiting Good Will Hunting: A Sudden Emotional Impact

Watching "Good Will Hunting" for the second time hit me differently than the first. The first time, I simply followed the plot. This time, I understood the underlying formulas. When the protagonist meets the female lead at the bar for the first time and defends his friend against a pretentious Harvard history major, saying, "You dropped a hundred and fifty grand on an education you could have got for a buck fifty in late charges at the public library," it hit me unexpectedly hard.

True healing begins when people connect on a deeper level. Will's knowledge and talent are his weapons against the arrogance of adults, but deep down, he's just a scared child, using his brilliance to build impenetrable walls around himself. His frequent court appearances followed by acquittals, and even his later guidance by Lambeau, stem from adults' condescending pity. This unequal exchange, despite its good intentions, only solidifies Will's distrust, as he uses his intellectual arsenal to mock these seemingly virtuous people.

But Sean is different from the others. He and Will are opposites in many ways. If Will is the epitome of theoretical knowledge, Sean embodies practical wisdom. Sean has lived through Will's experiences—growing up in South Boston and enduring his father's beatings. However, he's also faced things Will hasn't—losing a friend in battle, experiencing the Sistine Chapel's atmosphere, and feeling the joy of waking up beside a woman he loves. This is life education, not book learning, and it is the magic that counters theoretical attacks.

When they first meet, Will reads Sean's situation from a single painting. Anyone else, like previous therapists, would have fled from such direct exposure of their deepest pain. But Sean and Will meet as equals. Sean sees Will's vulnerability, recognizing him as a scared child, and chooses compassion. Sean knows how to deal with Will. In a way, he is a parallel version of Will, a combination of Will's past and future. Step by step, gently but firmly, Sean teaches Will to come down from his lofty heights: to express his true self, to understand what he wants, to know it's not his fault, and most importantly, to get permission to leave those he cares about. Through this process, Will gains inner strength. Sean, too, finds redemption, having been trapped in the pain of his wife's death for too long. He experiences new growth as he watches Will mature. Packing his bags, Sean sets off on a journey of his own.

By the end of the film, I realized the brilliance of the dialogue, costumes, and sets. Every message is clear, yet the dialogue remains subtle. Will's tumultuous journey isn't explicitly narrated; viewers infer it from various hints—his files, the dilapidated house and car, his evasiveness about meeting family, and finally, his tearful hug with Sean. Watching it again reveals new layers and hidden gems throughout.