Also known as Mimi o Sumaseba (“If You Listen Closely”), this is the 1995 Studio Ghibli film by the late Yoshifumi Kondo, which is now on DVD in the US and is available through Netflix, Blockbuster, et al. I kicked around a number of ideas for movie picks, including Blade Runner or maybe a Sergio Leone film–probably Once Upon a Time in the West (because, you know, Charles Bronson). But there’s already an active thread discussing Blade Runner, and the Movie Club just did a western fairly recently. I considered picking something weird that everyone would probably hate, like El Topo or Jan Švankmajer’s bizarre adaptation of Alice in Wonderland. But I’d actually like for someone other than myself to participate in the thread, and even my fondness for the odd stops short of actually wanting to see El Topo again.
So instead I went with an animated film, which Movie Club hasn’t done yet. I wanted to go with a Ghibli film that not everyone has likely seen, but should. So it was either Whisper of the Heart or Only Yesterday (Omohide Poro Poro), but Only Yesterday is not currently available in the US, and Disney (which owns the rights) has said that they have no plans to release it here, like, ever. Since I’m not sure how Movie Club folks feel about torrenting bootleg fansubs as a prerequisite for participation, I decided to keep it simple and stick with Whisper. You can go ahead and watch the English dubbed version, if you like, since it’s the version that Miyazaki recommends for English speakers. I’ve watched it both ways; the differences are pretty minor, and the English voice actors are quite good.
So, you all know the rules. Get the movie, watch it, and then come back here and discuss. Don’t read further into the thread until you’ve seen the film.
I love all the books in Shizuko’s house. That’s very much my sort of house, and I will never understand people who can own property without covering at least three walls with bookshelves. Also loved the cat. And the usual Studio Ghibli feeling of warmth and goodness in every single character. Maybe it’s not realistic, but it’s sure as fuck heartwarming, and not in a saccharine way.
And boy, I haven’t recalled those oldschool stamp cards in -ages-.
That’s a good and interesting point. Ghibli movies always remind me of sort of a “better time” that (probably) never really existed. Maybe it’s because nobody ever seems to watch TV in them.
It’s one of those things. Some Ghibli movies (My Neighbor Totoro for example) tell stories almost entirely free from conflict. Others (Porco Rosso, say) tell stories that have antagonists, but the antagonists aren’t genuinely bad people, they’re just after different things and maybe a little loose of morals. Porco Rosso’s air pirates, for example, never really kill anyone and are quite helpless against cute little girls. I’d be hard pressed to think of a Ghibli film that had honest to goodness villains in it. Princess Mononoke, maybe? Haven’t seen that one in ages.
Sort of, but even the industrialist lady in Mononoke isn’t especially evil, she just values technology and human progress over nature. She also cares deeply for her people, which is part of her motivation for aggressively promoting her way of life, as I recall.
Of Ghibli’s films, I’d say only Nausicaa really has an antagonist in the traditional good/bad sense. And that’s not even fully true of the (much longer and in-depth) manga version.
Castle in the Sky has a clear bad guy, and Yubaba from Spirited Away is petty, mean, nasty, and selfish enough to qualify. As for Mononoke, I’d say the priest counts as a bad guy, although he’s painted with shades of grey.
Yubaba has some humanizing and/or nice moments too. I don’t remember if I’d consider the antagonists in Castle in the Sky to be outright villainous, but if I did that would help explain why it’s one of my least favorite Ghibli films (despite really cool visuals).
i didn’t know what to expect really when watching this. Sure I love the big name Ghibli titles but who doesn’t? And what is up with me falling asleep watching anime anymore? Is that sure sign of old age or simply the soothing power of static long shot animation?
I enjoyed being immersed in the little background details, the cramped apartment, smoking at the dinner table, the desk stacked with books, the possibility of adventure following the cat, the old’s man dream while napping and the made up Country Road lyrics.
The movie definately had a better second half once the main character abandons the Man Haters club attitude. But ultimately the movie has a whole didn’t do it for me. I guess I couldn’t connect with the inner struggle or feel anything other than simply an observer.
Marginally enjoyed but without further consideration (or pointing out something I just missed) I would probably not pass this along to a friend.
As always though thank you for the thoughtful pick as the Movie Club continues to expand what I experience and remains a method for my posts to remain meme free and substansive.
Finally finished this tonight; I’d gotten part way through it, but the disk was scratched and I had to get a replacement from Netflix.
Anyway, it’s a great pick. Nowhere near my favorite Ghibli film, but such a nicely heartfelt and earnest movie about growing up. I was surprised that even my 5 and 8 year old boys liked it.
I think Ghibli might have some kind of memetic patent on injecting non-saccharine heartwarmingness (heartwarmth? into its flicks.
But while I did like it on balance, and it had great beats–the cat chase, the cramped little family apartment crammed full of books, etc.–it unfocused and unfinished. Sort of a mirror to her story, really.
Another good beat: for awhile there, I was worried her story was going to be declared phenomenal, prodigy output, whatever. There was much relief when instead it was pointed out that, yeah, there’s talent there but it’s all rough and unpolished and finding that polish will take a lot of effort and work. Really, the film could have ended fairly gently there or shortly after, but it didn’t seem to know when to; ending with the pair briefly reunited by the sunrise overlook and promising to marry each other someday was like a slipped-bow violin squeal on the final notes, if you can dig it.
Somewhat, but I’ve always taken that little finale to be a bit of an empty promise. Very little in Ghibli animation is by accident, and if I recall correctly, her expression when he declares to the entire town that he’s going to marry her is fairly skeptical, if not downright uncomfortable. Kind of a foreshadowing that life lessons never really stop coming, and here’s the next challenge.
I don’t know, I had quite the opposite take on her reaction. It was sappy, quite in a middle/high school romance sort of way that felt accurate rather than saccharine.
Young kids with a crush on each other being naively emotional? Yah, I can remember that happening; pretty typical for first romances really.
Yeah–I think my main difficulty with it is that it was the ending spot. I think it actually would have worked better earlier to reinforce the broader point that especially at that age, people themselves are rough unfinished stones.
also mentioned above, i liked that there were no villains in the story.
kept me in a little suspense, i was worried there might be some sick twist where someone gets killed. when grandpa was dreaming as the fire went out, i thought he had died in his sleep and was meeting his dead wife.
there was no false conflict with the parents of the violin maker: they agreed to let him try out in italy. the parents letting the main character skip out on studying to pursue her secret project felt unrealistic, though.
the “i love you” ending was a bit goofy but it left me smiling. i don’t expect it to 100% mean that “they lived happily ever after” but i liked the ending since everything worked out ok: the main character was going to high school but now had a purpose, the violin maker was going to have his dream but still go to the same high school, the parents were happy. hell, even the best friend and guy with a crush on her walked off together in the credits.
i laughed at the “stupid jerk! stupid jerk!” part and the classroom going crazy when the violin maker visited the classroom. and at the part where she’s imagining the person taking out the library books and she instantly thinks of the violin maker and scream out loud in the library. the movie did a good job of covering that up: i thought it was going to be him, then the grandpa had a different name and i got thrown off the track.
the only loose end was that the cat wasn’t matched with the baroness.
