Souvenirs, goutte à goutte

This is probably my favorite animated film of all -- and now it looks even more beautiful than ever (thanks to the Japnese DVD release). This is a story of a 20-something "office lady" who is vaguely dissatisfied with what she sees as increasingly pointless life in the big city. As she visits the rural family of her sister's husband for a working vacation, she also revisits her fifth grade self. (The contemporary scenes are done in a fairly realistic fashion, the flashbacks have a lovely pastel look -- that would later be used even more extensively in "Our Neighbors, the Yamadas"). This film does not draw upon cartoons for its background, but on the films of Ozu and Naruse. The intelligence and sublety of the characterization is extraordinary. This also has a very appealing use of Hungarian folk music (the favored music of our heroine's young farmer friend). If you've never before sobbed tears of joy over closing credits before, you will here. (It never fails for me -- at about 7 times and counting). While Takahata's "Grave of the Fireflies" may have a more timely (and harrowing) tale to tell, I think this understated little story is even more beautiful and effective.

We've all seen those "coming of age" movies that transition the protagonist from childhood into puberty, and there's heaps of "discover your inner child" movies to put some fun in your life or life in your fun or whatever -- Only Yesterday is a rarity: Unsure and a little lost in her urban complacency, Taeko finds she must step beyond her inner-child shadow before she can grow up and move on with her life.

Only Yesterday isn't about grade-five, it's about being 27 by way of grade-five. It's a story about stepping out of our childhood, like the way we finally, and graciously, say goodbye to a worn-out favourite pair of shoes, or when, once we get to our destination, we can thank a particularly helpful bus driver and disembark.

Ugh, that's not much of a review, is it. Fortunately, Takahata says it all ten thousand times better than this :)

This is the question to be asked, even for the fans (like me) of "grave of the fireflies". Compared to all the other ghibli movies, this real masterwork has been unfairly unrecognized. Forget about the anime you watched so far, it's completely different, more adult, more realistic, more... life-like. No big eyes (well, the flashback are somehow "very 60's", but that's the purpose!), no screams, no ultrasonic voices; just characters treated as they were true actors. For example the pineapple scene or the mathematics exercise scene are the most incredible daily life pictures i've ever seen! And the final credits will have you wipe some tears... Watch it and make your friends watch it too. Don't be surprised by its length. It's fun, sad, real, touching, moving whatever you want... I still dream it will be released abroad, one day... who knows? Talk about it around you and maybe this could happen. Takahata definitely deserves it!

This is a very gentle and beautiful film, which could have been done as a 'normal' film with live actors, but it wouldn't have worked one-tenth as well; somehow doing it as an animation allows us to explore the characters much better.

It tells the story of Taeko, a 27 year old Tokyo office worker who goes to spend a few days in the countryside. She is at a stage where she is starting to question her life, and is haunted by memories of her 10th year.

One thing that stands out is that there is no great drama, the pace of the film is almost humdrum, the whole emphasis is on the development of the characters: this of course means that it will not be to everyone's taste.

The success of this film will depend largely on the extent to which you can identify with the central character, and how much you can emphasis with the central theme of growing up. Those with a pre-determined idea of what Studio Ghibli is and what their films represent may be somewhat put out by the nature of the film, which is perhaps more mature in its themes and sensitive in its characterisations than something like Panda! Go Panda! (1972) or the iconic My Neighbour Totoro (1988); creating a film that is based very much in reality, but abstracted by the more fantastical allusions to childhood and memory.

Unlike the more widely regarded Ghibli films, the fantasy elements of Only Yesterday (1991) come from within the narrative; as our central character recalls elements of her life as a child as she finds herself at something of a difficult crossroads. She's approaching thirty, but still very much a youngster at heart, and has to juggle between chasing her dreams and living up to the expectations of her family and the stereotypical idea of a woman as the domesticated wife and mother. As she leaves the city to spend the summer picking safflower on the farm of some distant relatives she is accompanied, figuratively, by her ten year old self, as the lessons and events that shaped her young life are used again to help her make that all important decision that will ultimately set the course for the rest of her life. Although the subject matter might hint at melodrama, the presentation here is really very special indeed; using reality and imagination, past and present, and the appropriation of specific, pop-cultural reference points to create this sad and somewhat tragic character who finally finds an outlet for all of her hopes and dreams in this evocative, rural setting.

If you're familiar with director Isao Takahata's earlier Ghibli film, the highly acclaimed Grave of the Fireflies (1987), then you'll be somewhat familiar with his personal approach to storytelling, which here, takes full advantage of a rural period setting, the complex relationship between the various characters, the ideas of time and memory, and a creation of a particular world that stresses realism and accuracy to almost the smallest detail. With this is mind, I'd rate Takahata as not only one of the greatest animation directors of the last twenty-five years, but one of the greatest film directors of all time; easily on a par with the likes of Andrei Tarkovsky, Yasujirō Ozu, Kenji Mizoguchi, Miklós Jancsó, Peter Watkins, Michael Powell and Akira Kurosawa, etc, with the keen eye for detail, impeccable performances (both spoken and animated) and the overall approach to the story (which is entirely personal, but still completely fascinating) enlivening the drama and taking it beyond the merely adequate conventions of animated cinema to the next conceivable level of greatness.

Although I'm three years younger than the character of Taeko as presented in the film (and from a completely different background and generation) I could completely empathise with her situation and her dream of something much more rewarding than the bland office job and the continual expectations of family and friends. As a result, the film was more satisfying and more emotionally captivating than it might have been had I failed to make such a connection. As it was, the film forced me to think about my own childhood, and indeed, what the ten year old version of me would have made of the current twenty-four year old incarnation. Even if you fail to make a similar connection with Taeko, the film still works as a result of its memorable and entirely believable characters, the clever use of storytelling and that beautifully moving and somewhat magical finale. I guess some viewers will perhaps find it slow or harder to relate to, especially if you judge it at the same level of films like Spirited Away (2000) and Howl's Moving Castle (2005), however, those in the right frame of mind and willing to give themselves up the characters - emotionally speaking - will be rewarded with one of the most beautiful and carefully realised films of the last 20 years.

As much as I love those films of Hayao Miyazaki, Only Yesterday seems to affect me in a way that is entirely personal and unforgettable. The character, as both a ten year old and as a twenty-seven year old is perfectly rendered, acted and animated. The situations that occur in her life, in both of the separate time-lines, are believable and actually add something to the drama and her eventual switch in direction in those last few scenes. For me, Only Yesterday is simply great; a modern masterpiece to rival the aforementioned Grave of the Fireflies and a must for anyone with a real appreciation for intelligent, character-based, emotionally captivating cinema.