Uma Carta para Momo

Young Momo Miyaura (voice of Karen Miyama) and her mother Ikuko (voice of Yuka) leave Tokyo and move to a remote Japanese island following the accidental death of Momo's father. Aside from feeling outcast and out of place, Momo also feels guilty because her last conversation with her father was an angry outburst; he started to write a letter to her, but after, "Dear Momo," no other words were written on the page. Once in the small fishing village, the children of the town, especially Koichi (voice of Takeo Ogawa) and his little sister, try to include Momo in their activities, but she isn't ready to deal with other people yet. Her mother is off on training courses or in the orchards all day, leaving Momo feeling even more alone. But then she starts to hear three voices in the house when she's apparently alone; these turn out to be three former gods turned goblins, including the Ogre with a huge rectangular mouth Iwa (voice of Toshiyuki Nishida), the frog-like and flatulent Kawa (voice of Koichi Tamadera) and tiny, childlike Mame (voice of Cho). Unlike most humans, Momo can see and interact with these beings, and although they get off to a rocky start, soon enough they find that they need and care for each other, in more ways than one. How the goblins help Momo resolve her feelings about her father's death, her mother's distance and her complete change of environment is all part of the charming and gentle "A Letter to Momo." This lovely film was written and directed by Hiroyuki Okiura, who devoted seven years to crafting this film, using the skills of artists to create an almost entirely hand-drawn, 2-hour animated film. The scenic landscapes are, as usual in Japanese animation, beautifully rendered, and the characters are all lovingly drawn with great attention to detail. I'm not very familiar with Japanese mythology, but the three goblins, in particular the rectangular-mouthed Iwa, looked familiar to me, suggesting that they might have more resonance with a Japanese audience than a North American one. Regardless of the depth of knowledge of the audience member, almost everyone is sure to be entertained, and touched at times, by this lovely fable.

The film is a story about a girl's spiritual growth and overcoming difficulties in a new life. Momo Miyaura, a sullen 11-year-old, encounters three goblins from an old Edo-era's comic book. The goblins are Iwa, Kawa and Mame. Iwas is large, clumsy and honest; Kawa is middle, manipulative and greedy; Mame is small, slow and infantile. They are mischievous, sloppy and dull.

Their appearances are reminiscent of "Kyoka Hyakki Yakyo," an illustration of goblins in an Edo-era comic book called "Kibyoshi." "Kibyoshi" is a precursor of 'manga.' In the Edo era, various images of goblins entertained readers and told valuable lessons.

The film is set in Shio Shima, Inland Sea, an allusion to Yasujiro Ozu's classical film "Tokyo Story." Momo moves from Tokyo to the small island after her father's sudden death. While she is boarding a ship, three drops of spirits come down from the sky and land on her. The drops are the goblins or guardians, which help her reconcile a sad memory about her father. She regrets criticizing her father before he passed away.

In the film, the legendary goblins and Momo develop strange but warmhearted relationships that unite the past and present, or this world and afterlife. A motif of connectedness appears at various levels and creates a poignant but cheerful story. First, it shows continuation of time in Japanese popular culture by making a connection with the funny goblins emerging from a "kibyoshi" and in Momo's contemporary life. The past is linked to the present via 'manga.' The emergence of old 'manga'unfolds a history of Japanese popular culture, which intertwines with her daily life and symbolizes continuity.

Second, the connectedness illustrates the relationships between the spirits and humans in a spectacular way. Various types of spirits such as orchard spirits, ocean spirits and forest spirits assist Momo. This is most memorably exemplified when the spirits collaborate to help her in the midst of a fierce typhoon. Thanks to their support, she overcomes a difficulty. Demonstrating collective forces, the animating spirits generate a harmonious and splendid message that life is working with others. Nobody can live alone.

In addition, the scene also gives us a lesson. Each one of the vigorous spirits provides her with a tiny power that is almost negligible, but its contribution is valuable and finally brings a tremendous result to aid her. It reminds us that selfishness and indifference do not bring anything good. The significant message is that everybody has a role to play in the world. The scene is a pivotal moment of her spiritual growth.

Furthermore, the connectedness with the spirits also underlines a powerful animistic note that we are part of nature, which exerts enormous power and is larger than us. Nature and humans can coexist harmoniously in this world. The connectedness is the key that keeps our lives going.

Third, the connectedness demonstrates that death is not the end of life. The goblins have been sent from Above in order to watch over the living. Their special mission is to rally round Momo and report about her life to Above. Their mission expresses a vastness of time in human life, including the afterlife. In short, the dead also have a mission to do in this world. A person's life in this world is finite, but one receives another mission to complete in the afterlife. The amicable relationships between the hilarious goblins and her imply that the deceased can also return to this world and work together with the living. The connection between the dead and the living indicates a culture of ancestor worship, emphasizing the relationships between ancestors and offspring, or the past and present.

Accordingly, the story offers a strong viewpoint that it is possible that we can be befriended by spirits or the deceased. A sense of infinite life is an unforgettably emotional moment and contributes to her psychological relief that she has another chance to make up with her father. Finally, the togetherness ameliorates her hardship. All the connectedness is linked to a process of her reconciliation with her regret.

This film would be particularly appealing for victims of the unprecedented great earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in 2011. Many people unexpectedly lost their loved ones and everyday lives. They were totally unprepared to suffer such tragedies, let alone time to bid farewell. Later, they left their familiar lands and have been struggling with new environments.

In the film, such sentiments are clearly illustrated. Momo's father had an accident at sea and never returned. Her relocation to Shio Shima is an outcome of the loss of her father. The abrupt loss echoes Japanese collective grief and sorrow for those affected by the unbearable incidents.

Likewise, Momo's struggle is part of their struggle. Her feeling of sadness is theirs; her tears are theirs. Eventually, her achievements foreshadow their hopefulness. The story captures her shuttered heart as a reflection of theirs. It epitomizes Japanese psychology – many people hesitate to talk about their tragedy because it is negative.

The film finally offers a moment of catharsis and kindles a flame of hope. Consequently, underlining the importance of familial bonds and hopes that keep them going toward their future, "A Letter to Momo" is a letter to those victims.

More importantly, the story conveys Japanese Gambaro spirit that is an encouragement for people to work hard. The spiritual essence cultivates a sense of esprit-de-corps and persistence. Gambaro spirit is a sense of working hard together and for others, who will help us sometime and somewhere.

Ultimately, intersecting beings from the afterlife with this world, the film informs us of a traditional belief that invisible spirits live together in this world in order to help us.

All the deceased are our guardians, so chin up!

A Letter to Momo is a sweet coming of age story where a child becomes introverted and frozen by grief over the death of her father. She is visited by 3 spirits to overcome this pain, become social again, and move on in her life.

This feels like a long lost Studio Ghibli film, as it has a similar to vibe to their chill films like Whisper of the Heart, Only Yesterday, Totoro, etc. The animation is also a similar style to Ghibli in that it has great detail on the facial expressions of the characters and the backgrounds. The story is like a fairy tale that kids could enjoy and get attached to, even if the subject matter can be emotional at times.

You do care for the main character as everyone around her attempts to help her recover. She is also adjusting socially to a new environment that all audiences can connect to.

I'm only docking points because it is still a standard story that has been told many times both in anime and live action. Also, if you are not into films geared towards general audiences and only like mature shows, you can skip this one as well.

I'm glad I checked it out, and its merits a watch if you are a fan of these types of Ghibli-esque dramas.

Anyone who has watched any anime features knows that they are able to serve a very different function from live action films. What films like Spirited Away, Wolf Children or Colorful are able to do that traditional live-action can't do quite as well, is find a way of integrating folklore and fantasy elements into the lives of its young protagonists in a way that helps them describe their distinct view of the world and the problems they face growing up in it.

In A Letter To Momo, a young girl Momo and her mother have sold up their apartment in Tokyo and gone to live near some relatives on Shio Island. Momo's father has just died in a boating accident, and an unfinished letter that opens only with 'Dear Momo...' doesn't bring about the kind of closure the young girl needs. Three drops of rain from the sky however accompany Momo to the island, where they take the form of ghostly goblins from an old picture-book.

Even though the creatures can only be seen by Momo, the trick with anime films of this kind is that the viewer needs to be drawn into Momo's view of the world, not seeing the line between fantasy and reality, letting the message that lies behind it weave a magic spell without being overstated. That of course if the cinematic art of illusion and A Letter To Momo does this particularly well, creating good interaction between the characters, exploring the opportunities for visual effects, and building it all up to towards an epic conclusion that gets message across sensitively, without preaching or speaking down to a younger audience.

While every culture is unique -- which is implicit in the very word -- Japan moreso than others has left us with a type of anime that is unmatched anywhere else.

This is Japanese anime so pure and yet so subtle that, if you watch for the entire two hours, it will slowly but inevitably overwhelm you.

Hiroyuki Okiura has lovingly and painstakingly done hand-drawn images which are deceivingly simple. You only have to pause the film and look closely at that you are seeing to appreciate the detail. Even the rice cooker in the kitchen is an exact match for an actual rice cooker.

The intent clearly was not to move into the more action-packed stories (space, time travel, wars) but to stick with the tried and true tale of a young girl connecting with nature spirits of a sort that are, again, unique to the culture. Very similar to My Friend Totoro, with more of an emotional step-laddering Personally, I loved it Give it a chance and you may be crying by the end.

That goes for the ladies too