Oct 9, 2022
I figured I might as well leave a review from someone who genuinely enjoyed this film, despite some of the other reviewers' misgivings about it (and being called the lowest 5% of movie watchers, ouch).
This film probably shouldn't be labelled as a fantasy. It's more like drama and slice of life, and that's slice of life more in the Wolf Children or even Mushushi sense. It's certainly a coming-of-age story. The 'fantasy' element is only really a background basis on which young childhood relationships are developed. Which does mean, yes, you've got a few annoying eleven-year-olds depicted, that's actually how most young children tend
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to present themselves. I regularly want to beat up the children I work with. But what I do like about the children is the fact that they represent different ways friendships can present themselves. The main groups are two young girls, two boys and the two leads a female and a male (the 7th child is more related to a personification of place). Each of these groups shows different forms of relationships and the way in which they can clash, interact and grow together.
Now, the main themes that I took away from the film were the connections between childhood, place and how growing up means having to disconnect yourself from where you have been and return to where your true home is (which is connected to people not place). It speaks of how turbulent this disconnect can be and how sometimes it's almost as if the place itself is the thing that doesn't want to let go. On how memories, both good and bad, are stored in a location (which is the role the grandfather plays).
People who are coming into this film wanting high action or to see how a bunch of children try not to die in a floating apartment will be disappointed. The action is minimal and is only used to add tension or growth between relationships.
and of course, the animation is quite nice. Overall I enjoyed the film that I watched.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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