Whisper of the Heart (1995)
01 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
in Anime Reviews Tags: 耳をすませば, Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli, Whisper of the Heart
Happy New Year to one and all!
I took a brief interlude from trying to catch up on shows to see some of the Miyazaki films that had passed me by, which included today’s feature, Whisper of the Heart. The story starts off following the life of Shizuku Tsukushima, an extremely ordinary girl who is at the crossroads between middle and high school. Her parents want her to study for entrance exams but she is more caught up in finding adventures like the ones in her books. Around the same time, she realizes that all the books she is taking out of the library have been borrowed by a Seiji Amasawa, a cat she follows on the way to visiting her dad leads her to an antique store where, as she puts it, stories begin, and she meets a boy who nosily reads one of her poems. These three things start her on her own adventure of self discovery, living, and loving.
Before I start on the critique, this film deserves a little history. I consider this a Miyazaki film because he wrote this script, but this was actually the first and only film that Yoshifumi Kondo ever directed. It looks as though Miyazaki and Takahata, the brilliant directors of studio Ghibli, were hoping that one day he would take up the reigns. This was his starter film, the one meant to be his first step into Ghibli greatness, but he passed away before we could see how he grew.
Most Americans haven’t heard of this movie. Disney licensed it and released it straight to DVD in a quiet way. They acquired it during their starting partnership with Studio Ghibli, which occurred as a result of Spirited Away. Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli are far more well known for the adventure films like Princess Mononoke and Howl’s Moving Castle, so the idea that an older film in a very normal setting, directed by someone who had nothing to his name wouldn’t spark much interest wasn’t far off the mark.
And yet, the film is gorgeous. Following the tradition of quality art and animation, Whisper of the Heart does not leave the viewer disappointed. There are breathtaking landscapes and wonderful colors to accompany the plot. The settings are very carefully planned and there is clearly a lot of spirit behind this story. There’s even a flying scene, a true mark of a Miyazaki film. The music is fun as we hear three different versions of the song “Country Road,” and a whole lot of Yuuji Nomi’s compositional skill (he also wrote the music for the Cat Returns, a sort of sequel to this film which I highly recommend).
The plot, though, is a little too quiet for my taste. I can see how this film fell under the radar. There is no real build-up, no climax, no catharsis. It starts off like any fantastical story would, the characters are introduced in a traditional sense to the point where I don’t feel there are that many holes. Once the plot actually gets going however, a lot of that careful structure seems to get lost. At first, we think that the story is just about Shizuku and her desire for fantasy. Then it seems to be about her relationship to Seiji. Then it goes back to being about Shizuku and Seiji is once again lost. Then back to Shizuku and Seiji and then a little bit of the antique shop. I’m not sure that Miyazaki in writing this script could make up his mind about what the focus on, so he just went wherever he thought the story needed to go. It was almost irresponsible and the director did very little to reign that in.
Yet, I think I am only being harsh because this is a Miyazaki script and I expected more. He’s had a hand in some really amazing works like Totoro and Castle in the Sky, so what happened? Whisper of the Heart is pretty to watch and has it’s moving moments, but not so much so that it changes the way I think. It pleased but it didn’t inspire, and Ghibli moves are supposed to INSPIRE! Instead, like many first-time Ghibli directors after him (the most recent being Goro Miyazaki with Tales of Earthsea), Whisper in the Heart falls into the category of simply okay. It’s a cute tale and it might be one I watch during a Ghibli marathon, but it’s not one I plan watching on repeat.
Art: A
Music: B+
Script: B
Final Grade: B+
