2011-07-23, 13:33 | Link #24 |
Knight Errant
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Age: 35
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Feels a bit like Whisper of the Heart to me as well. Hopefully it will turn out well, this is Goro's chance to shine. Though if this is a repeat of Tales of Earthsea I could see his career being finished. I'm all for second chances, but 3rd chances? Especially when you consider that Ghibli likely has many other promising individuals waiting in the wings.
Hopefully somone can give us some impressions of it. |
2011-07-28, 17:34 | Link #25 |
Moving in circles
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Singapore
Age: 49
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I watched the movie yesterday (July 27). In short, I liked it.
Let me quickly jot down a few rough thoughts and first impressions before doing a more extensive review once I'm back in Singapore. (1) A ticket for adults at Shibuya Toho, where I watched the movie, cost a bloody 1,800 yen (US$23; S$28)! Considering that the most I'd ever paid for a movie ticket in Singapore is S$10, you can see why the Tokyo price was a shocker for me. (2) The audience comprised mostly adults, with only a handful of very young children. Many of the adults were middle-aged or older. They made up, I'd say, about 30% to 40% of the audience. The movie probably has stronger appeal for older people because of the nostalgia factor (more about this later). Incidentally, Kokuriku-zaka Kara was No. 3 in the Japanese box office in its opening week. A Pokemon movie was No. 1 in the same period, and I think a Full Metal Alchemist movie at No. 7. (3) As mentioned already, the movie is set in 1963 Japan (I believe in Yokohama city, or possibly in Sakuragi-cho), just one year prior to the Tokyo Olympics. I have no idea why Japan seems suddenly nostalgic about that particular year, since we've also recently had Showa Monogatari, set in the time period, appear on TV just recently. The story follows the life of second-year high-school student Matsuzaki Umi ("Meiru" to her close friends), how she got to know her senior, Kazama Shun, and how she fell in love with him. Of course, the course of true love never does run smooth, and Meiru and Shun will have to deal with a particularly tricky problem that could otherwise doom their blossoming relationship (saying more would spoil the story). The other major plotline follows the adventures of the students at Meiru and Shun's high school, as they try to prevent the school authorities from demolishing their humanities clubhouse. Incidentally, Shun is, I believe, the assistant editor of the school's newspaper, while Meiru, through a coincidental turn of events, also ends up helping at the newspaper (more a newsletter than an actual paper). In the tradition of Ghibli shoujo movies, Meiru is a strong, disciplined and well-mannered girl who is admired by most of her classmates. Being the eldest child in her family, she naturally plays the leading role in taking care of not just her younger sister and brother, but also two other long-term residents in the house on the hill where her grandmother lives. Meiru's mother is an assistant professor who is overseas, either to teach or for further studies. Meiru's father was, I believe, a naval officer who commanded a landing ship tank that got sunk during the war. As for Shun, well, he's a nice guy, an intellectual and a budding activist like the school president (and editor of the newsletter). He's very cool, naturally, the kind of boy any girl would swoon over. (4) In terms of overall tone and atmosphere, the movie is closer to the lesser-known Ghibli movie Ocean Waves than it is to Whisper of the Heart. And that is a surprise, given that Miyazaki Hayao co-wrote the storyboard. It feels more like a Isao Takahata film, say Only Yesterday for example, than a Hayao movie. Kokuriko-zaka Kara has none of the fantasy elements that the elder Miyazaki is known for, and is much more "shoujo" than all his previous movies. Because it banks so heavily on nostalgia appeal, I really don't see this movie travelling very far outside of Japan and anime fandom. For this reason, Kokuriko-zaka Kara is unlikely to become one of the top films in the Ghibli pantheon but, that said, it's a vast improvement over Tales of Earthsea, so kudos to Miyazaki Goro. The animation doesn't have that mesmerising quality of older Ghibli movies, but it's still top-notch. And the background art is, of course, amazing as usual. Voice-acting overall was strong, especially for Meiru's character. OK, that's about all for now. It's already longer than I planned. More details a day or two later if I have the time. |
2011-08-02, 15:43 | Link #26 | |
Banned
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Montreal, QC, Canada
Age: 40
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I cannot tell for Tales from Earthsea. I've yet to watch it soon, but I always expect something good from them even if it comes from the simplest ideas. I'm rarely disappointed with anything related to Studio Ghibli, so I trust them with this new movie coming up. |
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2011-08-02, 15:47 | Link #27 |
Blooming on the mountain
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Deep in their roots, all flowers keep the light....
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Thanks so much for the review TinyRedLeaf!
Hmm ... Only Yesterday is my fave Ghibli production, and I am also very fond of Ocean Waves. If it is at all like those I will definitely try and give this one a look!
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2011-08-16, 11:17 | Link #29 |
Moving in circles
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Singapore
Age: 49
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Unofficial second "trailer" of the movie, containing the pivotal scene that complicates Meru and Shun's relationship. The details have already been released on Wikipedia, so I think it's already public knowledge. Still, in case people don't want to know, I'll use spoiler tags.
Spoiler for trailer spoiler:
Having thought further about the historical significance of the setting in relation to the movie's key themes, I realised that there is, as usual, a hidden depth to Hayao Miyazaki's screenplay that is worth discussing further once more people have viewed the movie. Suffice to say that 1963/4 was a time of incipient revolution in Japan, as the children of the Baby Boomer generation enter adulthood and begin agitating against old taboos in a youthful — some would say naive — push for social change. |
2011-09-05, 00:10 | Link #30 | |
耳をすませば
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Toronto, Canada
Age: 34
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Well, well, well, look what showed up on the Toronto International Film Festival website
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Last edited by Theowne; 2011-09-17 at 19:29. |
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2011-09-17, 19:10 | Link #31 |
耳をすませば
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Toronto, Canada
Age: 34
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I've just returned from the final showing of the film at the Toronto Film Festival. More detailed review on my site, but for now, my essential feeling is that I enjoyed the film while thinking that it didn't quite match its potential due to one particular plot point.
I was one of those who had presumed that the film would be similar in atmosphere to Whisper of the Heart. Instead, as alluded to above, the tone of the film indeed felt more like a merging of Ocean Waves (which TinyRedLeaf mentioned) along with the flashback portions of Omohide Poroporo (simply for the depiction of growing up in a different era). The portrayal of the period was very well done - perhaps the part of the film that will linger in my mind the most. Maybe I'm a sucker for "simpler times". Compared to Earthsea, this one felt much more like a Ghibli film to me, with very lush, beautiful artwork of the semi-rural setting, and a gentle, detailed touch to the moments of daily life. The imagination is there too, in the case of the wildly unkept clubhouse which the students are attempting to preserve. Although we cannot be sure how much of the film Hayao Miyazaki wrote - as he is credited as a co-author - I cannot help but imagine that the scenes where the students - the radicals - decry the majority for worshipping the future and forgetting the past must be harking back to the protests of his own youth - mentioned in Starting Point. However, for me, the film attempted to insert a conflict that I didn't feel it needed, when it came to the love story (and thus added an overtone of melodrama - though the film is somewhat self-aware about that). Spoiler for Specific discussion of a plot point:
In the end, I found it to be a well-made, though not overly affecting, film. Regardless, I am more comfortable about Goro being a frontline director than I was after Earthsea.
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Last edited by Theowne; 2011-09-18 at 11:39. |
2011-09-20, 11:04 | Link #32 | ||||
Moving in circles
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Singapore
Age: 49
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2011-09-20, 16:30 | Link #34 | |||
Moving in circles
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Singapore
Age: 49
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The way I see it, and based on subsequent interviews, it would appear that Hayao Miyazaki 1) objected to Goro's involvement in the first place because he didn't want his children to follow in his footsteps, knowing as he did how demanding the job can be; 2) once Goro got on board, though, Hayao was furious at any hint of him putting in anything less than his maximum effort. Still, yup, the results do help to validate Goro Miyazaki's abilities. But he was helped by a good script, which featured a strong element of nostalgia that appeals to a domestic audience, particularly older Japanese. Sooner or later, Ghibli will have to grow out of such stories. What then, I wonder? |
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2011-09-20, 17:36 | Link #36 |
Seishu's Ace
Author
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Kobe, Japan
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I really don't think it's as innocent as all that. Hayao's pal Oshii Mamru said "(Hayao) has the sense of crisis that he is being driven into retirement by the young generation. He tries to kick the other party to the bottom of a ravine, even in the case of his own son . . . " There's also all the public sniping they've done at eat other - "zero points as a father", "from my earliest awareness to the present day, I hardly ever had the chance to talk to him", etc... I think it's just a reality that Hayao is an epic failure as a father, as great a director as he is. It's too bad, but it happens all the time in show business.
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2011-09-20, 17:52 | Link #37 | |||
Licensed Hunter-a-holic
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 35
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Earthsea made more money ah...
Though I figure that had more to do with the targeted audience of Earthsea being of a more general variety compared to Kokuriko-Zaka Kara, which is more geared towards a much older crowd. Still, credit given where it's due. Congrats to Miyazaki Jr. for making a critically acclaimed movie, and stepping up considerably after his last film. Still, Quote:
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This is sort of what worries me right now. Sometimes I wonder if Ghibli can really make a critically accepted film without the help of Hayao Miyazaki, or one that doesn't really on nostalgia. EDIT: Quote:
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2011-09-20, 18:29 | Link #38 |
耳をすませば
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Toronto, Canada
Age: 34
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If Miyazaki Sr. is trying to stamp out new competition, I'd have to wonder why his qualms only extend to Goro and not the other up and coming directors, who have had no similar problems with garnering his support.
I would think his "issue" is more that Goro hopped over every hurdle to becoming a director of a major film based on the fact that he carries the Miyazaki name. Before directing Earthsea, he worked in landscaping. Hayao has certainly made his thoughts on a "Miyazaki dynasty" clear in certain interviews.
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2012-03-19, 11:21 | Link #39 |
Moving in circles
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Singapore
Age: 49
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Heads up to those of you still waiting to watch this excellent movie.
The "first press" limited edition Blu-ray is available for pre-order. It will come with subtitles in English, French and "more languages". The official release date is June 20. For full list of other related products, check here. |
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