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Jun 25, 2019
This anthology film isn't tied together with any particularly inventive meta narrative like some others out there, but like classics such as Robot Carnival, its collection of stories have one aspect in common: their themes. And as you may have been able to ascertain by the title of the film, that theme happens to be the concept of "modest heroes." Everyday people, some average and some not so much, who make sacrifices and acts of heroism both big and small. This can range from a young boy simply trying to not let an egg allergy get the best of him (in "Life Ain't Gonna Lose")
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to an invisible man ("Invisible") striving to find his place in a world that doesn't even acknowledge his existence.
Hiromasa Yonebayashi, director of Arrietty, Marnie and Mary, directs the first segment of two crab-children embarking on a journey to save their father. While my least favorite of the bunch, this is still quite the exciting journey during its runtime.
Life Ain't Gonna Lose is directed by Ghibli veteran Yoshiyuki Momose, who was the art director behind the stunning visuals in many of Isao Takahata's most artistically bold films (particularly Princess Kaguya and the Yamadas), in his (surprisingly) first ever role as a director despite him being such a storied artist. This film was certainly my personal favorite by far. The story was the most grounded, yet the animation and emotions portrayed gave it perhaps the most weight and impact of them all. Sometimes the most epic tales are those that can already happen in our own world. Fitting, as the inspiration behind this story was itself inspired by a colleague's detail of raising a child with severe allergic conditions.
The final segment, Invisible, is a visually jaw-dropping affair with an ambiguous and abstract plot that begs the viewer to see with their hearts instead of their brains. Loose and erratic line-work perfectly renders a protagonist that for all intents and purposes is not visible. Ironically, or likely even intentionally, this short features arguably the most impressive character acting out of the entire trio of films. The director was specifically tasked with bringing life and expression to someone without a face. Needless to say, the results speak for themselves.
As with nearly any anthology, the quality is variable, but always relatively high and impressive. And unlike Studio Ponoc's previous film Mary and the Witch's Flower, which was good but very derivative of the Ghibli-alumns' past work at said studio, it's clearly apparent that these stories were produced to be above all else, original, daring, and artist driven. I only lament that we will never get to see the contribution Isao Takahata was slated to put forth before his unfortunate passing. Beyond that though, this is a consistently impressive showing from Ponoc and I am absolutely in support of more thematically-tied anthology films coming from them in the future. They may not be as profitable, but the imagination and inspired drive behind them is far more apparent.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 18, 2019
I am constantly in awe when reflecting upon how downright ravishingly beautiful of an artistic achievement this film is. Isao Takahata made his ultimate masterpiece with this film. In every sense of the word. As much as his death in April of 2018 pained my soul (especially upon discovering he was planned to direct a short film in Studio Ponoc's recent Modest Heroes anthology), there could not have been a more perfect film to go out on. Very rarely has any movie made me visibly emotional, but Kaguya accomplished the task like it was child's play. At moments I was laughing, then in a later
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scene I was immediately reduced to a sobbing mess. Movies have made me tear up before, but never full on cry. Except, of course, for Grave of the Fireflies (another film oh-so conveniently directed by Takahata). Takahata has a great understanding of human emotions not often seen by other directors. Emotions almost literally spill off the screen in his films, and Princess Kaguya is no exception. The film itself is a lovely metaphor for life itself. In that it makes you feel every emotion in the book.
Characters
You go on a journey with this strong women who constantly refuses to form into the mold that society dictates she must fit into. Kaguya is a very interesting protagonist, and you never want to take your eyes off the screen. The ways she thwarts her "enemies" are more emotional than physical, she's smart like that. The story starts out with a charming air of enthusiasm as little Kaguya explores this beautiful world, but be warned. While it offers many themes of life to ponder over, this is not what I would describe as a happy tale. As Kaguya matures, so too does the tone of the film. It gets increasingly dark in its subject matter, and Kaguya's life doesn't exactly get more uplifting. But she grows as a person, and it reminded me of my own struggles in life. When you're young, you are much more oblivious to the dark and sometimes evil world out there. And throughout the film Kaguya realizes that life without true happiness isn't really living at all. There are many lovable characters you meet throughout the film, and like any Ghibli film worth its salt, this film doesn't have any clearly defined villain either. There are definitely some less than desirable characters in there (the emperor definitely comes to mind, he was an ass), but none are outright evil. There are a lot of assholes in the real world too. Kaguya's adoptive mother and father are caring and gentle, and only want what they personally think is best for her. Even if her views of happiness don't match up with theirs. Oh, and Kaguya's handmaiden was absolutely aces (whom I eventually found was voiced in the dub by the wonderful Hynden Walch, the voice of Princess Bubblegum, which makes it even better).
Art and Animation
The artwork is of course a very high selling point for the film, and one of its greatest strengths. Inspired by traditional watercolor paintings and charcoal sketches from ancient Japanese scrolls and envisioned by the criminally unknown but massively influential artist Yoshiyuki Momose (who partnered with Takahata on many of his films to bring the director's ideas to visual fruition), the film's emotions at many times come through in the art itself. During one particularly notable scene in the film when Kaguya escapes from the castle in an enraged fury, the animation follows suit by evolving into an erratic and wild explosion of rough charcoal lines and tones of black and grey, with a striking and ominous moon looming in the background (a symbol that is foreshadowed many times throughout the film). Another sequence involving a nobleman hunting down a dragon of legends is so fluidly drawn yet rough at the same time. It was absolutely entrancing. In fact, now that I think about it, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya is probably the only animated film that truly takes advantage of the capabilities of the animated medium. It employs its unique visual style to actually enhance the mood the film is attempting to get across, making it all the more powerful.
Sound
The soundtrack by Joe Hisaishi is possibly equally as wonderful. It only enhances the film's impact, with beautiful tracks that have stayed imprinted in my head ever since. It just feels so right. The main theme that repeats throughout the film represents the beauty of life, perfectly accommodating the film's own themes. And it doesn't hurt that it's also extremely catchy, as well as the upbeat Celestial Being music that plays during a not-so-upbeat moment during the climax of the film. There's also one more recurring track initially played at the beginning of the film that is a very simple but haunting melody that stuck with me until the end. Hearing it now having seen the film tends to bring a tear to my eye. I do believe it is some of Hisaishi's best work. We were spoiled the year of this film's release with not one but two of his soundtracks, the other for The Wind Rises. And while that film's soundtrack was great as well, I feel as though this one edges it out simply by being so perfect for the film it's accompanying. Everything is just so wonderfully timed.
Some lovely Japanese tracks are played on the koto as well, so while Ghibli's English dub (which is included in the Japanese release) is just as high quality as we've come to expect (It has James Caan!), I'd personally recommend that you watch it in its original Japanese first so you can experience the lovely singing. It's always difficult to re-dub those scenes in foreign films anyway, but Ghibli did a good job with it nonetheless.
Closing Thoughts
In closing, should you see this film? Yes. As soon as it is humanly possible for you to do so. It's stuck with me long after I've seen it, just like all great films do. And hopefully it will stick with you as well. It will make you laugh, it will make you cry. It will make you feel human. And I respect any work of art that can make me feel that way. To describe the plot in any more detail would be to rob you from experiencing it for yourselves. The best recommendation I can give you is to go in blind, and if you haven't read the original story yet that'd be even better. This way you'll get the full, unspoiled experience.This is indeed Isao Takahata's magnum opus, and Ghibli's penultimate achievement. Definitely check this one out. Just make sure you have a box of tissues handy. Or two.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Apr 17, 2019
Mirai is truly precious and downright heart-melting, while rarely coming off as treacly or overly-saccharine thanks to the clear place of experience and insight showcased in the portrayal of family and siblings that Hosoda possesses. His understanding of the essence of family grows more profound with every film. The man has always been fascinated with the theme of family and how our bonds to our lineage form us into the people we are. Mirai is perhaps the most resonant implementation of this theme the visionary director has yet conceived. Truly a beautiful, heartwarming and downright infectious and endlessly charming experience. The film doesn't follow a
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traditional plot structure and is possibly the director's most "arthouse" work yet, and this may not work for viewers less inclined to be fully absorbed by its child's eye view of the world, but the film perfectly captures that essence of a child's point of view.
In less capable hands the main character Kun, as a young child, could have easily been unrelentingly obnoxious and insufferable, but in his grasp the character is often more endearing than not. And when he isn't, its purposeful. The entire family feels extremely real and grounded. Kun feels like a real 4 year old kid. The parents feel like real, well-meaning but exhausted people simply trying not to screw up raising these little gremlins. Their relationship together is often chaotic and just barely avoids tearing at the seams, but ultimately their intrinsic love for each other always brings them to reconciliation.
Like many of his works, Mirai is an ode to the bonds that tie multiple generations of family together. It wasn't structured like a traditional narrative, or even most other Hosoda films, working rather as an interconnected set of dreamlike vignettes tied together by the recurring theme of familial ties and Kun's arc of understanding them instead. But the 4 year old protagonist made the film's childlike perception of the world and the blurring between reality and imagination believable. The film isn't interested in exploring the sci-fi mumbo-jumbo implications of the time-travelling aspect and it's honestly probably better for it. It would unnecessarily convolute its simple message.
Production-wise, this was possibly the director's best-looking work yet, with lots of interesting and diverse implementation of both traditional AND CG animation. Particularly, the use of CG for the house in the tracking shots to convey time passing through different sections of the massive structure was super cool and reminded me a lot of the extended take in Wolf Children that continuously shifts between the classrooms to show the children growing progressively older and climbing grades, only much more ambitious in scale. The final act was possibly the most exciting portion of the film for me, filled with dark, twisted imagery in a vast, disturbing and purgatory-esque train station. The art and color choices on display here was absolutely entrancing, expertly blending the 2D and CG mediums together.The level of detail in the character-acting in general was truly impressive. They went above and beyond to make every character's movements in the world perfectly fit their personalities and age.
This is simply one of the most effective cinematic expressions of a pure idea/theme I've ever seen, and the stunning visual and sound direction (particularly in the final act) can not be understated in its contributions to this. And regardless of one's opinions on the Oscars as a legitimately respectable awards ceremony, Mirai was certainly more than deserving of its nomination for Best Animated Feature, as well as being the first to hold the distinction of being the first non-Ghibli/Miyazaki Japanese animated film to earn such an honor.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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