I'd long been curious about this Ghibli film (not by headliner Hayao Miyazaki) and this winter, on a trip with family and friends, I finally had the chance to see it. A middle school love story, it should be enjoyable for all audiences but probably is best for kids interested in creative expression, their parents, and adults considering following their muse. The reason I make that recommendation is that combining idealistic advice with pragmatic considerations is a hallmark of Ghibli films. It also makes an effective introduction to anime, as the older generation in the audience hadn't seen much but liked it.
I specifically liked how the film dealt with undercurrents of class and high stakes testing in a realistic but not heavy handed manner. Chasing artistic dreams did mean lower test scores and this was treated as a real trade off. In addition, the different levels of effort the two main characters had put into their art could be traced back in part to their different backgrounds and not just their level of industriousness. Parenting style also made a difference but even the approaches the filmmakers likely approved of were shown to have ups and downs. The film makes no bones about the fact that art can be hard work and that even after you put in that work it may not payoff and certainly will require polish.
With obvious selfish motivation, I'd be fairly curious to see what the creators take on adults in a similar positions would be. I'll have to check what else they've done.
Finally, I'll just note that I loved the 'concrete roads' version of 'country roads take me home.'
Source: Borrowed from Kate, thanks Kate!
Interesting! I got this as a present a while back from a friend of mine who was leaving to move back to Japan. I'm glad you liked it; maybe I'll give it a chance when I get back to Montreal.
Posted by: Moti | January 11, 2012 at 12:24 PM