La colina de las amapolas

Umi Matsuzaki is a teen girl living with her grandmother in the Port of Yokohama. Her father is a sailor and her mother is studying in America. She does chores for the boarders at the house. The 1964 Olympics has just been awarded to Tokyo. She is taken with male student Shun Kazama who along with others are trying to save an old building for the school's clubs.

This Studio Ghibli movie is a historical drama in the real world. It's an interesting transitional time in Japan. The characters are endearing. As for the big reveal, the teenage melodrama is handled with the safest of kiddie gloves. It's cute but it's not pushing that hard. The source material is probably coming from someone's childhood. There is a sense of a time and place. The story is not aggressive but very charming.

The newest Ghibli film (which is already out on video overseas but will not play theatrically in the U.S. until March of 2013) is the second from Hayao's son Goro, after the somewhat disastrous Tales from Earthsea. This one is definitely a success. It's a smaller Ghibli film, more along the lines of Only Yesterday, Whisper of the Heart and Ocean Waves. In fact, it's probably most closely related to Ocean Waves, in that it's about teenagers and their relationships. It's quite a bit better than that one, though. The story revolves around a group of teenagers in Yokohama trying to save their school clubhouse from demolition. The story takes place in the early 1960s, and their clubhouse is slated to be destroyed to make way for an Olympic stadium of some sort. The two main characters are Umi and Shun. Shun is one of the leaders at the clubhouse. Umi kind of falls for him and comes up with the idea to pretty up the clubhouse in order to impress the politicians, hoping they'll move onto another site. The story is very small and simple, but it's utterly charming. The artwork is truly stunning and the music (by Satoshi Takebe) is gorgeous. I doubt Disney will open this one wide, but they are planning on giving it a modest Oscar campaign so, unlike Arietty (which would have easily won the award last year), this should definitely get a nomination.

Having seen Tales from Earthsea, I wasn't expecting much from this film, although it had garnered some positive feedback. Goro Miyazaki had already shown us that he didn't share his father's magical touch, creative ingenuity and ability to tell timeless stories. That being said, I was pleasantly surprised by this film. Though to be fair, the story was written by Hayao Miyazaki so at least part of the film's quality can be attributed to him and not his son.

Still, Goro Miyazaki DID direct this film and with it he proves that he actually has some promise as a film artist. This is a delightful little film about young love, willingness to endure through hardship and the importance of trying even when it seems pointless. It's a story told well, with beautiful animation, identifiable and likable characters and many scenes that have stuck with me since then. The story of two young people in love and all the obstacles in their way is one that has been told countless times, but the version of this film is one of better ones I've seen. It's not flamboyant, neither is it too sweet or too clinical, rather it feels real. Sure it's a bit extraordinary, like a good story should be, but it still feels like I could learn something from it.

So yes, the story and the characters are the best part of this film, for which we have to thank pappa Miyazaki, but I liked the contributions of the son as well. The atmosphere, the mood of the film, the feeling of mid-century Japan, the way all the characters interacted with each other. As stated before, it all felt just extraordinary enough to catch our interest, but not too much so that it became unbelievable.

Though, in retrospect, I cannot say that I felt like I had seen something groundbreaking when I walked out of the theater. It is a fine movie by all accounts and Studio Ghibli can be proud to call it one of theirs, but it lacked that certain spark that all great films have. In that one singular aspect this film just wasn't all that extraordinary. It doesn't mean that you should see it, though, far from it. It's a film with heart, feeling and passion. It has cheer, humour and melodrama to spare and it will make you feel good, like a family film should.

Soundtracks are very nice. Animated scenes also are worth watching. Audiences can see the way Japanese people doing with their life. It seems to be mediation (Zen) in every activities. They focus on them deeply, not slow, not fast, just enough to feel living emotion, being present. I'm very appreciate that - the Japanese honor. By the way, i am not sure that spirit still exist in Japan now. One thing i take from this movie and another Japanese movies, manga, anime: they love summer and also the youth (in high school) very very much. It makes any songs about summer be very touching. Imagination brings me to Japan with summer wind, summer taste, summer beach and summer love.

From up on Poppy Hill is a deserving addition to the Ghibli library. It's sweet, small and relatable. The manga-based script is written by Hayao Miyazaki himself, while his son Goro is directing this time.

Poppy Hill is slightly different from the more known Ghibli films in the fact that it takes place completely in the real world and there's not even the slightest hint of anything supernatural. It makes it a different kind of film, so I would recommend placing your expectations outside the Totoro/Ponyo/Spirited Away territory.

Once you settle into the setting, the movie offers a good time: the characters are colourful (especially the philosophy guy, he was hilarious!) and relatable and the simplicity and down to earth feel of the story prevents the film from getting out of hand. The romance doesn't feel forced in any way and there are many heartwarming moments. By the end I was just smiling and left the theater with a warm feel inside.

The movie has some issues that keep it outside of greatness status. The animation isn't bad, but certainly not the level we've come to expect (this might be partly because the film was in production when the 2011 tsunami hit, so it's understandable). The story takes a while to get going, and also I found the music almost interrupting at times. I wonder how the sound mixing went because at times the music felt almost too loud.

But in the end Poppy Hill is a very enjoyable film. It takes a while to get going, but it gives it the advantage of getting better and better as it progresses.

Recommendation: For Ghibli fans and newcomers alike From up on Poppy Hill offers a heartwarming feel-good film that will bring a smile to your face. Definitely worth seeing