rejuvenation

His films consistently explore spiritual and physical renewal, most explicitly in 'Spirited Away' where characters undergo transformative journeys that restore their true selves.

He obsessively examines bodily and psychological regeneration through body horror and obsession, as seen in 'The Fountain' which spans centuries of attempts at rebirth and immortality.

His meditative cinema explores cyclical time, memory, and spiritual awakening, treating rejuvenation as a mystical return to origins and dissolution of self in films like 'Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives.'