SoÖMarianne and I have been enjoying a Studio Ghibli marathon over the past few weeks. For me the standout so far is the film alternatively referred to as Whispers of the Heart and/or You Listen Closely . It has the elements that I'm coming to realize are typical of Miyazaki, the most obvious being the female lead, Suzuku; she's smart and resourceful but thinks of herself as exceedingly plain and ordinary. What really appealed to me is the atypical elements- itís a consciously and enthusiastically urban love story- donít expect romantic sequences set amid falling cherry blossoms in landscaped gardens, it all takes place in a locale crowded with cars, trucks, apartment buildings, electrical towers, street lamps, highway overpasses and culverts. I imagine people who grew up, say, along Eglinton Avenue would probably feel at home. After following up on the fantastic nausicaa.net I learned that it's actually a section of West Tokyo where Miyazaki once worked. The setting is not a stereotypically beautiful, but it is beautiful in itís own way, which is kind of the point I guess, and I why I like it so much.

I like what this Japan Times reviewer had to say:

The animators delineate Suzuku's character and tell us the story of her discovery of love and life though an accretion of small, vivid details, including the way she fumbles for the alarm clock and keeps forgetting her things. There are also moments, such as Suzuku's pensive walk down a shaded street, with the light and shadow playing on her slender form, that are poignant in their celebration of her youth, with all its promise, hope and uncertainty.

A Disney film, forever hurrying on to the next plot point, would usually spare little time for such seemingly extraneous details and moments, but they are the very soul of "Mimi o Sumaseba."

There's a good ëDisney dissí from Miyazaki himself elsewhere on the site: "When I look at 'Beauty and the Beast,' it reminds me of a psychiatric patient and his counselor," It can't be by accident that Miyazaki chose level his criticism at a contemporary Hollywood film with a similarly bookish female lead. Itís seems like a strange turn of events that Disney are actually releasing most of these films in the West. Itís even stranger that given Disneyís decision to stop producing classically animated films and all the hand drawn features that North Americans are likely to see for the next who-knows-how-many years will have been created by a small studio in Japan as much as twenty years ago.

As many of the other reviews on nausicaa.net point out the plot of Whispers is extremely simple; so simple that by the end of the movie I was wondering at the fact it had even got made. I canít imagine Miyazaki getting beyond the pitch stage in Hollywood: "Iím thinking of making a slow, quiet movie about a plain high school girl named Suzuku who realizes that a boy named Sejji is taking out all of the same books as her from the library. She meets him and he turns out to be a Violinmaker, and her initial dislike of him develops into love. Unfortunately, he has to leave for Italy in order to pursue his craft. The End." (Iím exaggerating for effect here, thereís a bunch of fantastic sequences, too.)

If you don't like the John Denver song Country Roadyou might be advised to stay away from Whispers, because you're going to hear it a lot. I like (I donít think Marianne does) but I thought that it really gives the film a lot of focus and richness; about halfway through the film a bunch of Sejji's musician buddies and start an impromptu jam, with Suzuku singing; I was taken aback by the genuineness of the sequence; you feel nervous for her; her only previous audience has been her best friend, but you also share in her excitement and growing confidence as she realizes that she, and the song actually sounds pretty good. It felt real, like a jam session with a between a bunch of really good musicians where everythingís clicking.

The director of Whispers, Yoshifumi Kondou, was a supervising animator on many Ghibli films including Princess Monoke and was evidently being groomed as Miyazaki's successor. He was obviously a great choice and I was searching around trying to find other films he'd been involved with, only to discover that he'd passed away of an aneurysm shortly after the release of Whispers of the Heart. Thereís this eulogy by Miyazaki, which I have to say I found kind of odd, but it could be the translation.

Other Ghibli Movies Iíve been watching:

Grave of the Fireflies: Actually forgot that Iíd watched this movie before until very near the end, and I probably wouldnít have remembered at all if it wasnít for Marianneís prompting. Iím not sure exactly what this means, because I usually have a really good memory (or think I do) but it may have something to with the fact that the original viewing was of the dubbed version. I think that just listening to the tone of the characters voice along with subtitles has more emotional power- so much so that listening to it with different voice actors can seem like a totally different experience. Part of the charm of Whispers was the Japanese Version of a very American song- this is one example of something that I suspect would be lost in the dubbed version.

The down point of the subtitled version is that if the you have a cat sitting on top of you while youíre laying in bed you canít read them. ..

Princess Monoke: I watched this when it was released a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. Again, I think I preffered the subbed version.

My Neighbour Totoro: The dubbed version is a little too shrill (ala Fables of The Green Forest), for us to get beyond the opening scenes but quite mysterious and interesting. Iíll probably give the subtitled version a try.

Only Yesterday: Another by the director of 'Grave'. Another animated movie that I have trouble imagining getting made over here . It's understated, true to life and quite moving; a really beautiful film.

Kiki's Delivery Service: A fun and suprisingly suspenseful kids moview. Phil Hartman does the voice of the Cat in the american version.

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind: I think I 'll save this until after I'm done reading the new edition of the comic that is currently being published by Viz.

10:25 AM

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