The Cinematheque

“A beautiful film … Here is a film that uses the gifts of the animated form to magnify the magical minutiae of everyday life.”

David Jenkins, Time Out’s 50 Greatest Animated Films (#21)

Perhaps the most underrated Studio Ghibli film (it is directed neither by Miyazaki Hayao nor Takahata Isao) turns 30 this year. Debut filmmaker Kondo Yoshifumi was mentored by Miyazaki, and Whisper of the Heart feels like a synthesis of both his and Takahata’s approach, using fantasy and unhurried late-summer detail to develop a tale of artistic awakening. Shiziku is approaching her first year of high school, but most of her mind is occupied by a timeless dilemma: how to turn the words and pictures in her head into something others might understand, or even enjoy? She meets a mysterious cat and an antique shop owner, who give her space for devotion to her writing. Kondo’s film is rooted in resonant, eclectic details. Shiziku’s interest in the young violinist Seiji starts when she sees his name on the check-out slips for all the library books she’s reserving, while the development of her personal voice begins with scenes invoking both Olivia Newton-John and Alice in Wonderland.

“Studio Ghibli productions [are] always adept at making the fantastic seem real, but with Whisper of the Heart, Kondo focuses so intensely on the everyday that it makes the real seem fantastic.”

Noel Murray, The A.V. Club