Director: Goro Miyazaki
Talent: Sarah Bolger, Anton Yelchin, Christina Hendricks
Release Date: 9th August 2013
The latest feature in the Studio Ghibli canon is a coming-of-age tale focusing on two teenagers growing up in the scenic coastal town of Yokohama. The film investigates the teenagers domestic lives but also places them within the changes that were taking hold of the country in a time after the Korean war and anticipating the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. By marking out the protagonists as part of the ‘New Japan’ it adds weight to a story that often risks being unsubstantial. Though whimsical at times, the movie is completely without any of the grandiose fantasy that makes up the most memorable movies in the Ghibli back catalogue. Neither does it have any of the crushing realism of 1988’s Grave of the Fireflies. Instead the film’s creators seem happy to reminisce about a time gone by and remain idealistic. The bright animation reflects this and just like the film as a whole, you’ll either find the visuals completely charming or lacking some much needed depth.
