Whisper of the Heart
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Movie Reviews of Whisper of the Heart
Movie Review: Absolutely wonderful, "heart"-felt story, brought to life Ghibli-style.
Summary: 5 Stars
Yoshifumi Kondo's first and only film for Studio Ghibli (he died a few years after it was completed), WHISPER OF THE HEART, is an absolute delight. Gentle but not syrupy, this modern-day story about a girl and boy discovering that they have a lot in common is beautifully animated, compellingly characterized, and full of heart (pun intended).
Based on a graphic-novel by Aoi Hiragi with a script by Hayao Miyazaki, the movie centers on Shizuku Tsukishima, a spacey yet sympathetic young High School student who would rather read books from the library rather than study for her school tests. Shizuku discovers that a certain Seiji Amasawa checks out the same books that she does, as detailed on the library checkout cards. When Shizuku first meets Seiji in person, she thinks he's a "stupid jerk" (he makes a somewhat snide remark about her supposedly "corny" writing abilities), but she soon discovers that he is a strangely gentle fellow who longs to become a violinist yet feels that his playing isn't as good as others say it is. Shizuku can relate to this, given that she doubts her talents as a writer. The story takes a dramatic turn when Shizuku discovers that Seiji will be temporarily leaving for Italy to train as a violinist. This inspires Shizuku to pursue her own talent, and she proceeds to write her first story.
At the surface, this would sound like a rather simple love story, but that's not all WHISPER OF THE HEART has going for it. Miyazaki's screenplay ingeniously allows the viewers to identify with Shizuku as she expresses the following emotions: frustration, disappointment, fear, joy, and vulnerability. This is displayed not only in her growing relationship with Seiji, but with her daily interactions with her friends, family, and her inner thoughts. We even see Shizuku deal with humiliation (and even guilt) when a boy reveals he had a crush on her all along, yet she only considered him a friend. Sometimes certain movies can delve a little too much on these angst-ridden elements, but in WHISPER OF THE HEART, this is handled in a way that is not so overbearing (or frustrating even) to the viewer.
The film also works in a subplot involving a captivating antique shop containing all kinds of sparkling treasures, including a charming statuette of a cat known as "Baron". The kindly owner, Mr. Nishi, is warm and supportive of Shizuku, especially when she decides to write her story based on the aforementioned "Baron" statue. He reminded me of Uncle Pom from CASTLE IN THE SKY, a similarly gentle old man who sadly only showed up for one scene; having this kind of character play an even bigger role in WHISPER is a delight.
Speaking of which, the scenes where Shizuku imagines her story are among the movie's most imaginatively animated moments. The film's artwork, typical of Ghibli, is top notch, but this sequence (one of the studio's first experiments with computer animation) is especially stunning. Here we see the Baron come alive and escort a fair young maiden (who strangely resembles Shizuku) across a graceful sky of floating islets. The character of the Baron is quite charismatic and one of the more memorable characters in the film; the only other notable feline we see is a pudgy furball known as Moon (aka Muta), who appears quite grumpy whenever Shizuku tries to talk to him.
Incidentally, both of these felines appeared in another Studio Ghibli production, THE CAT RETURNS, a pleasant but merely forgettable family flick considered by many (myself included) as an inferior spin-off. Not that Hiroyuki Morita's film doesn't have any charm, but WHISPER has something that THE CAT RETURNS didn't have, hence why it holds up better.
Interestingly, John Denver's immortal "Take Me Home, Country Roads" plays a crucial part in the story: the first half of the movie deals with Shizuku trying to translate the song into Japanese. This part of the story obviously gave Disney a lot of problems in terms of translation, hence why it was delayed from its English release for quite some time. Fortunately, their dub handles it in a way that remains true to the original intent, yet at the same time makes it easier for American audiences to connect with. Here Shizuku tries to write her own lyrics for the song, with each attempt improving as she learns to write from the heart. This approach works rather well, as I could sense little, if any, lost in the translation.
As much as I've heard people criticize Disney for the actors they've chosen to voice the characters in their dubs for Ghibli's works, I have practically enjoyed every one of their voice casts--and, in the case of WHISPER OF THE HEART, I think cynics are going to be very hard-pressed to find any real fault with the performers assembled here. As the insecure Shizuku, Brittany Snow speaks in a very expressive, believable way without being saccharine, and has an equally lovely singing voice. David Gallagher--no stranger to voice acting, given his work in KINGDOM HEARTS--provides an excellent contrast to Snow through his understated yet effective turn as Seiji. Cary Elwes reprises his role as the debonair Baron from THE CAT RETURNS. The person who takes the prize for best acting in the dub, though, is Harold Gould, who brings just the right amount of warmth, poignancy, and compassion to the kindly Mr. Nishi.
I had heard so many wonderful things about WHISPER OF THE HEART, but I never expected to like it as much as I did. And now that it is available as yet another top-notch dub from Disney (although their DVD extras are a little bit sparse here; good thing the movie looks fantastic though), it pleases me that this film will hopefully discover an even wider audience. All in all, WHISPER OF THE HEART is a real winner as both a Studio Ghibli film and a Disney revamp, and I highly recommend it.
Movie Review: Animated Masterpiece Finally Comes to the United States...
Summary: 5 Stars
Whisper of the Heart is based on a screenplay by Hayao Miyazaki, which he adapted from a comic by Aoi Hîragi. The story focuses on a teenage girl who is to find out about life's difficult journey, as she discovers a mysterious name in a library book. Nonetheless, it is not a conventional teenage coming of age story that have already been made so many times.
The teenage years are the bridge from childhood to adulthood in which the child discovers itself in a process people call coming of age. Whisper of the Heart is such a story about the young teenage girl Shizuku who does what every good girl is supposes to do -- obey her parents. Parents often try to steer their children in a well-trodden path where mistakes are minimized and choice are limited as the future is important. Thus, it is essential that children obey the parent's wishes and desires as they usually have more knowledge and wisdom.
One of the demands that the parents put on their children is to study. In Japan the school system puts a lot of pressure on the teens, as they have to take hard entrance exams right before they enter high school, which means the students who get into high school usually spend the majority of their summer studying for exams. Shizuku, who is a good girl, does a lot of studying when she does not read books, which is one of her favorite pastimes.
Shizuku makes many visits to the library where her father works and she borrows large numbers of books. Through the old way of keeping the records of who borrowed what book Shizuku discovers the name Amasawa Seiji on more than one of the books that she has borrowed. This begins an innocent and secretive romance for Shizuku who uses her imagination to create an image for Amasawa. Despite this beginning, Whisper of the Heart is not a teenage love story, yet love is an important part of the film as it illustrates the complexity of being a teen.
When Shizuku does not read she translates and writes her own poetry, carries food to her father at work, and helps out with the house chores. In the summer heat she even finds time for a little friendship, which is huge element of being a teen. The ability to socialize with friends is affected by what they do most of the time, which is studying for the entrance exams. In one of these moments she provides a translation of John Denver's Take Me Home, Country Road of which she has also created in her own Japanese version. This is an interesting scene as it displays how hard these teens work even when they are relaxing.
On one of Shizuku's short ventures with food to her father who is working a stray cat leads her astray. The cat leads her unintentionally into a small antique shop owned by an old man. In this store she gets to hear the story of Baron Humbert von Gikkingen, a cat statue, which becomes the foundation for the film Cat Returns (2002). Shizuku also meets a young teenage boy who dreams of becoming a violinmaker and who dreams of going to Italy to study violinmaking. Through this teenage boy she learns to look into herself in order to discover what she desires to do with her life.
Shizuku sets out on a quest to discover if she has what it takes to become a writer and she drops her studies and focuses solely on writing. Her older sister becomes irritated over her lack of respect for her parents and her parents are bewildered to see how she is changing. The film does not simply imply that one should follow ones dreams. Rather, it takes the notion one step further by applying hard work, dedication, and desire to the idea of following ones dreams. Thus, it does not become a pretentious teenage film, which often teaches the superficial value of "follow thy dreams". Instead, it provides a realistic perspective on success, as most of it is due to hard work and rarely only dreams and hopes.
In this process Shizuku comes of age as she discovers what she wants to do while applying dedication and zealous work ethic to what she loves the most. Yet, the film is not only about "follow thy dreams", it is about so much more. As mentioned beforehand she falls in love with this mysterious Amasawa, has friendships that go through difficult times, experiences hurt feelings, has looming exams, goes through failure, and deals with whatever else life presents. In essence, Whisper of the Heart is about coming of age while dealing with the ups and downs of life. The film does not focus on one of the moments in life, but rather on the journey through life as Shizuku is acquiring wisdom.
Whisper of the Heart is a brilliant animated film by Yoshifumi Kondo who unfortunately passed away in 1998, which makes Whisper of the Heart the only film that he directed. Kondo worked as an animator on wonderful animated films such as Grave of Fireflies (1988), Kiki's Delivery Service (1989), Porco Rosso (1992), and Princess Mononoke (1997). It is sad to know that his visual talent and skill never got to make more flawless cinematic experiences such as Whisper of the Heart, which still has not been released in the United States. Hopefully, this film will also reach this nation as it has so much to offer in the sense of entertainment, enlightenment, and contemplative bemusement.
Movie Review: A fantasy about reality...
Summary: 5 Stars
Like chocolate milk and pancake batter, utter realism and animation rarely mix. Cartoons, completely unrestrained by the laws of physics, usually depict fanciful, imaginary, or surreal worlds and creatures that real fleshy human beings can relate to only indirectly or analogously. Talking lions, anthropomorphic toasters, ants with eyebrows, singing lawn furniture. That's the stuff of animation. "Kid's stuff," at least for many living in the United States. But, across the Pacific, one of Japan's greatest animation houses, Studio Ghibli, has continually broken this tradition by incorporating human characters so believable and lifelike they could already exist two doors down. "Whisper of the Heart" contains realism so tangible it could work as a live action movie.
Apart from a few scenes, the entire plot of this animated film takes place within the human realm. The heroine, Shizuku Tsukishima, a junior high school student in a middle class Japanese family, faces the perennial coming of age question: "what should I do with my life?" Her easily distracted squirrelish mind often wanders through fairy tales and imaginary stories. She follows tangents and roads less traveled, a habit that induces her to follow a stray cat, Muta, from a public train to an antique store. Once there she discovers an enigmatic sculpture of a well dressed cat. Its eyes radiate like fiery nebulas. The store's proprietor, Shirou Nishi, refers to it as "The Baron." Something about this statuesque cat catches Shizuku's attention and she decides to write a fairy tale narrated by The Baron. For a few minutes the movie shifts out of reality to depict pieces of this story. But reality quickly, and harshly, returns.
Along the way Shizuku gets haunted by a name: Seiji Amasawa. This person has already checked out nearly every book she has from the library. Examining the old style checkout cards - now extinct from computerized libraries - reveals this startling pattern. She begins to fantasize about the mysteriously reoccurring name. By this point her friends have taken an interest in boys, which also piques her own interest. One friend has a stultifying crush on a somewhat brutish baseball player who wouldn't notice a flaming brick thrown at his face. Shizuku tries to set them up but falls flat into a humiliating "whoops!" moment. The evasive name of Seiji wafts in the background.
When Shizuku discovers the identity of Seiji Amasawa, she's disappointed and a fight ensues. Nonetheless, the two build a relationship based on the ineffable stuff that all relationships are built on. Then Seiji, in pursuit of his life's ambition, decides to move to Cremona, Italy. This throws Shizuku into an emotional abyss. She seeks the solace of her friends. The same ones that previously sought relationship advice from her. Shizuku's own flowering fairy tale confronts reality. Will this relationship work? How can it?
Allegories of lost love permeate the story. An old clock, restored by Nishi, depicts a Prince staring longingly at his true love who only appears at twelve o'clock. Nishi himself dreams about the return of his long lost love, Louise. Even in his old age he still hopes. The lonely figure of the Baron parallels this tragedy. A companion piece, a well-dressed female cat also named Louise, disappeared along with Nishi's Louise of the flesh. Life interferes with love. And, despite the ending, life appears ready to deliver a blow to Seiji and Shizuku. Arguably, the ending remains open to interpretation. The constant refrain of "Country Roads," made famous by John Denver but sung here by Olivia Newton-John, hearkens those who have gone astray or wandered off to return home "where they belong" (at least in the minds of the amorously abandoned). Eerily, Shizuku and Seiji's story could end up mirroring Nishi's and Louise's.
"Whisper of the Heart" is one of Studio Ghibli's most poignant and beautiful films. Adults will probably identify with its themes more than children or teenagers. It searches for magic in reality rather than in fantasy, but it challenges these dreams with the vicissitudes of workaday life. It also makes us reflect on the whispers of our own hearts that tell us what we may have lost or may potentially be in the process of losing.
Movie Review: Best Cel Animation I've Ever Seen, A Master Work!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I collect anime, and have recently had the opportunity to see the dub of this great work on TCM before it's released on DVD. I've owned the subtitled version for a few years now, and was impressed that no newer anime movies can even touch the quality of animation displayed in this film. Yes, the story is good although I'd call it less a coming of age film and more a exploring our youthful options type of story. This is a slice of life type of movie, not an action or an adventure. It's interest is in how well it can capture the audience.
Capture you it does. I recently showed a friend of mine three animations. The first was a nicely done anime episode of a series called Bleach. The second to show the higher level of detail was Mulan, a Disney animation, with at least some footing into their cel movies. Finally, I showed Whisper of the Heart. The first was fine for most watching as are most decent anime series, the art and characters don't get in the way of the viewing. The second was a Disney theatrical release which is as good as can normally be expected. Decent detail and some nice visual effects to help drive the movie plot.
Then there was Whisper... Here's a little test if you don't believe me straight up. Watch the sequence where the girl follows the cat up to the antique shop. I've never seen such an attention to detail as this before. That an artist could render drawings of a city scape with this much detail and realism, is flat out amazing. I've seen animators blog on their extra's disc about the challenge to accomplish some special effect in an animated movie or series. Looking at it from their perspective, I could see the difficulties. Then looking at it from what was accomplished in this film, I think they are just whining over minor details.
Here are some more good examples in this film, check out the color changes with the lighting at night and in the morning at the student desk in the bedroom. Check out the many transparencies and translucencies from glass doors and windows. Check out the subtle motions of background items, and the detail and functionality. Nothing seems like an after thought, or out of place. The items the characters use and react too, always seem to have function. Even the special grandfather clock in the antique store, while imaginative somewhat, still looked and operated like it could have been real.
The style of Miyasaki characters are is on display here as well. He must have provided some of the drawings, if only in conceptual mode for this film. What is amazing for him is that he can create characters that are obvious animations. This is in contrast to the growing trend to create photorealistic characters, in mostly rendered animation. Instead Miyasaki characters are simple in their appearance, and features. Yet, they react to the incredibly detailed backgrounds, and all blend together to form a smooth animation without seeming busy or cluttered. This is one of those films that sneaks up on you. You find you can remember the story long after its over with. It's a pity most animated films don't have craftsmen of this level of talent. Other studios, have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on other film projects that were so ill conceived, a focus group of children could have told them they were bad!
If you read the plot summary of this film you will not want to watch it, so don't. Just view the film when you are relaxed, and you'll have an unforgettable experience. Studio Ghibli films tend to be like that. This one doesn't do any environmental or political preaching like a few of them are known to do. It simply entertains, and shows off animes to be a true art form, a fact that is often overlooked in the commercial world of crank them out, and get them to market, cookie cutter animations.
Movie Review: Beautiful, just beautiful
Summary: 5 Stars
For me, the Ghibli films are difficult to put in an order of best to worst as whenever I think of one to put at the top, I think '..oh but then what about..'. However, I can be pretty certain that Whisper of the Heart comes in the top three, if not at the head of my list. It baffles me why it doesn't even get mentioned in the Studio Ghibli trailer that comes with this waves releases.
Though it centers on children on the verge of adulthood, I think its audience is meant to be a little older than that - perhaps about 20 onwards. Whisper of the Heart is a slow-moving film, and so a child brought up on anime such as Pokemon or Dragon Ball Z may quickly become bored, so if this is a present for a youngster/teen, choose according to your childs tastes.
It, like many films centers in on a life-changing period of the protagonists' lives but on the way stops a little to show the beauty and magic of the world they inhabit. The film is sprinkled with small, sometimes inconsequential scenes which were designed to make the viewer not outright laugh, but smile on both the outside and the inside. One small example is where Shizuku is in the antiques shop, and as she stares into the emerald eyes of the Baron cat statue, the camera fixes on the last rays of sunshine as they disappear from the window, filtered by the branches of the tree outside. Its only a few seconds in length but verges on the photorealistic, with a perfectly judged color pallette. Its an incredibly calming scene and uses no 'magic' in the conventional sense of the term to delight the viewer, just the raw elements of life. It reminded me of the Safflower fields scene in that other great Ghibli film, 'Only Yesterday'.
Occasionally, as Shizuku begins to test herself by writing her first novel, the normal world gives way to her imagination and we see several scenes drawn by INOUE Naohisa. These scenes are suitably magical reflecting the raw ideas and imagination rushing to the front of her mind. They represent the only fantasy element to the story and are beautiful to look at.
The music for the film, dispite Amazons' listings, were not done by Joe Hisaishi, but are still very good - the opening is 'Country Road' sung by Olivia Newton John, and the ending is a parody sung by the Japanese acress who plays Shizuku, which ends the film on a high. In between are a selection of pleasant tunes which fit the film well.
I could describe the story more but that would be to spoil it for new viewers. When I first watched this film it was at a screening of the original Japanese dub in Cambridge. After it ended, I couldnt believe how relaxed and calm it made me and I sat for a good half hour in the park watching the world go by with a smile on my face. It has that effect.
I would say however that, at least on your first viewing that if possible, please watch the original Japanese dub. After watching the 'behind the microphone' item it became clear some of the actresses were too 'britney' for me and a few sections of the dialog were changed a bit too much for my liking. (I listened to the english dub of the last scenes and that was more than enough).
A note about the DVD quality - though the reproduction of the film is excellent, the Japanese (but not the US) dub of the film cuts off about an inch of the top of the closing credits - cutting off the heads of the characters so you cant see the resolution of one of the story threads. Bad Disney! To your room!
Finally, if you liked this film for its pace, artistry and emotional impact, I recommend Haibane Renmei, which is a similarly beautiful anime series.