The Girl who leapt through time

This movie is a gem for many Japanese, especially those over 50. It was an enormous hit on its release in 1983, and the leading actress Tomoyo Harada, who was only 15 at the time, became a national heroine. This film is so much more than a cheesy sci-fi flick with outdated special effects. It captures a glittering and often bitter time of youth with such delicacy and subtleness. It is also a cruel tale of a girl who falls for the wrong guy. They share a love so supreme that after losing it, a void opens up in her life.

The whole movie is reminiscent of the Showa era with nostalgic sceneries of Onomichi (Tokyo Story by the great Yasujiro Ozu was also filmed in this historic town of Hiroshima). I still listen to the beautiful soundtrack which for me is a true classic.

For admirers of House, Obayashi's debut, which remains popular amongst western audiences, this film is worth watching. It might not work for everyone, but it is so redolent of my teenage memories that, like the rest of its avid Japanese fans, it will always have a special place in my heart.

THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME is an adaptation of a popular Japanese novel by the director of HAUSU, but sadly that gentleman is unable to bring the same level of vivid excitement to this production as he did to that one. The end result is, in the end, a disappointment, and I suspect that the recent anime adaptation of the same novel is far better. The characters are okay and the direction is often unusual and creative, but it doesn't help that the story slowly plods along, alternating between confusion and boredom. Many of the stylistic touches are nicely handled, particularly the freeze-frame montages accompanied by beautiful music, but I was left wanting so much more.

I'm used to high quality Japanese movies - this is the country of Kurasawa, after all - but it shouldn't have surprised me to discover that there are Japanese movies from the 1980s that look as cheaply and artlessly made as a teen-themed 1980s TV series. What surprises me is seeing other reviews that like the way this was filmed, and to discover through wikipedia that this was done by an experienced director who has been successful in his field. Because this is as pedestrian-looking as you can find, and lacks any sort of tension or interest or, in the subtitled version I saw, interesting dialog.

This was the sort of movie you can tell isn't going to be any good from the first instant, but I was interested in the story because I'd recently watched the terrific animated version of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, which is a sequel, and I wanted to see a version of the original story. So I thoughtI'd just wait until the story kicks in. But the story doesn't so much kick in as slowly, slowly, slowly creep in.

At one point about a half hour in I gave up, but then I watched the sequel to this - Time Traveller, which is much better - and that made me even more curious, so I started half-watching while reading something (which is hard to do with subtitled movies, because you have to keep looking up). Even though I was entertaining myself in other ways, the movie still moved about as slowly as any movie could. It felt like they were trying to expand a 20 minute short into a full featured film entirely through long pauses, slow talking, and filler dialog.

Still, the movie does become slightly more entertaining as it gets into what there is of a story. Unfortunately, it also gets increasingly far- fetched, and a final big time jump is a senseless and bewildering hodgepodge that severely tried my patience.

The leads are so bland that their pseudo-romance fails to resonate; in fact, the only affecting scene in the movie is one near the end involving two minor characters. It's altogether irrelevant to the story, yet it was the only worthwhile moment in the entire film.

This is one of the worst Japanese films I've ever seen, poorly made in almost every way. It boggles my mind that other people here enjoyed it.

Having already seen the 2006 anime adaptation, I had the expectation going in that this could not possibly be nearly as good as that movie. I was right. However, this ended up being a movie I enjoyed. It has a slow pace, and the time shenanigans are much more restrained than the anime remake (at least for the most part). I really liked the lead actress, who reminded me of that of "Sailor Uniform and Machinegun". Turns out, she starred in a TV version of that movie prior to starring in this.

In short, if you are looking to experience the best possible version of "Girl Who Leapt Through Time", please turn your attention to the 2006 anime. If you enjoy this period of japanese culture as well as live action over animation, this is worth a look. The credit sequence alone is enough to make it worth a watch.

I quite loved parts of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, with the final act being the most engaging and also the most emotional. Nobuhiko Ôbayashi doesn't go quite as crazy as usual, outside a few sequences that really stand out all the more because the rest of the film's relatively normal. I quite like how with Ôbayashi, his style's always there, but you're never quite sure how dialed up or in your face it's going to be, and that balance of predictability and unpredictability makes seeing a film of his for the first time always exciting. On the topic of his films, I don't think The Little Girl Who Conquered Time is quite one of his best, but it is very good, and it's easy to recommend to anyone who's enjoyed something the filmmaker's made before.