The Age of Commercialism

Just perfect...

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Obviously I'm one of the few who weren't impressed by this movie. It wasn't that it lacked the fantasy, magical effect; on the contrary, it was quite enjoyable, with the beautiful landscapes and the detailed scenes. However, the story kind of dragged on. I guess it's is mainly me that was bothered by that and in general, this movie is quite good. The story is interesting, though it gets confusing with the way the relationship between the two girls is developed and the fact that Anna, although agreeing that there is something "fishy" about Marnie, on the very next scene she continues on like nothing has happened. Towards the end, things get way too obvious, but at least the ending was good and satisfying, as it didn't left any case unsolved and every story got a happy closure. So, 4 out of 10.

I tend to watch everything produced by Ghibli because their movies are astounding: the glorious artistic animation, the magic lighting, the wonderful colors, the picturesque landscaping, the attention to the detail, the way they capture daily life no matter the stories happen in urban or rural settings. Besides, the people at Ghibli do spend as much time on drawing the movie as on creating the story and developing the characters. Their stories are always a mix of the mundane and the celestial, the worldly and the dreamy, the ordinary and the extraordinary in life, the matter of fact and the inexplicable. Ghibli's movies are always sentimental, emotional, dramatic and fun, all at once.When Marnie was There is no exception. The film is based on Joan G. Robinson's children eponymous book published in 1967. The story is really lovely, and goes in a full circle to explore the feelings of alienation, angst, lovelessness and loneliness of the main character, Anna, a tomboy girl who hates herself and her life and has bouts of asthma out of stress. Most of the story occurs in her relatives' country house, where Anna's auntie and foster mother sends her to see if she recovers her health and joy for life. There, in this remote and pristine area of Japan, in an abandoned house, she meets the almost-Disney girly girl blonde Marnie, who becomes her best friend and does the miracle of opening Anna's heart to love. Kids and teens who experience this sense of abandonment, loneliness and alienation, will certainly connect with Anna's struggle to be herself, to open up and overcome her fear of rejection, and to opening to love, romantic and non romantic. Adults will love the magic realism of the film, the inexplicable synchronicity that leads to the end, and the overall spicy sweetness of the story. My mixed feelings about the film rely on the apparently queer relationship of the two teens. This wouldn't be a problem if the story didn't end as it ends, or the story was one with explicit queer love. I haven't read the book, so I don't know whether the relationship was expressed the same in the novel or not, but it was a distraction for me. For young queers trying to find their identity and fit in the world, the film will be a thrill, but for those who aren't it will be mostly a what-is-this-doing-here? moment. If Ghibli wanted to explore that part, great, no problem, but if that is the case I expect the story to be open about it, clearer about it, the characters to be related differently and the movie to end differently. I think part of the problem with the lack of success of the film it is just the apparent lack of inner congruency.I felt that Sayaka was a wonderful character to explore, but we barely get to know her. The same can be said about Anna's hosts the Oiwa, who are truly a funny interesting couple, and of the character of Marnie's childhood friend and paintress Oisako. On the other hand, the story is mostly an exploration of Anna's character, and the film does so perfectly well.Overall, this is a beautiful movie to watch with many layers of meaning and interpretation. Not a movie for children unless under supervision, and more for young adults and adults.

I found out about this Japanese cartoon movie, from Studio Ghibli, mainly because of its inclusion in the Oscar nominations, I was always going to watch this, both to see if I agree with this accolade, and as a fan of many films from the studio. Basically shy 12-year-old Anna Sasaki (Hailee Steinfeld) lives with her foster parents, Yoriko (Geena Davis) and her husband, in Sapporo, she is distant and unhappy, for health reasons she is sent to spend the summer with Yoriko's relatives, Setsu (Grey Griffin) and Kiyomasa Oiwa (John C. Reilly), in a rural seaside town. While there, Anna is fascinated by an abandoned mansion, dilapidated and overgrown, across the marsh, she wonders why it seems familiar to her, it has been empty for a long time, but Anna has visions of the house looking well and people residing in it. One night, following an argument, Anna runs away, she finds a boat and rows across to the mansion, there she is greeted by beautiful, good-natured blonde girl Marnie (Kiernan Shipka), Anna tells her about her dreams, but Marnie assures her she is not dreaming now, they agree to keep meeting in secret, but the next day, when Anna plans to see Marnie, the mansion has returned to its abandoned and dilapidated state. A week later, while sketching, Anna meets older woman Hisako (Vanessa Williams) who paints pictures of the mansion and marsh, she comments that Anna's sketches look like a girl she used to know when she was young, and she used to live in the mansion, which is being renovated for someone moving in. Anna returns to the mansion, she meets a girl named Sayaka (Ava Acres), she discovers Marnie's diary in a drawer, it includes text about a party Anna may have been part of, several pages of the diary are missing. The next day, Marnie reappears and talks to Anna about her parents always travelling abroad, her nanny and two maids and their physical and psychological abuse, Anna wants to help her confront her fear of the silo, where she used to be threatened of being locked in, Anna falls asleep, and is upset to find Marnie has abandoned her in the silo. Meanwhile, Sayaka and her brother finds the missing diary pages, including mention of the silo, they find Anna there in a feverish state, during which she dreams of confronting Marnie, who apologises for leaving her, and telling her she can no longer see her, Marnie begs Anna for forgiveness, Anna vows to remember Marnie as she is swept away by the tide. Anna recovers from her fever, Sayaka shows her the missing pages and a painting Hisako gave to Marnie, Hisako tells them Marnie's story. Marnie married Kazuhiko, who died from an illness, they had a daughter named Emily, Marnie was committed to a psychiatric hospital and Emily was sent to boarding school, when Marnie was released Emily was upset for her abandoning her, she ran away and had a daughter of her own, she and her husband were killed in a car accident, Marnie raised her granddaughter until her death, the girl was put in foster care. It is the end of summer, Yoriko is taking Anna home, she gives Anna a photograph of the mansion that belonged to her grandmother, she realises she is the daughter of Emily and Marnie's granddaughter, this revelation brings Anna closure of her identity, she bids her friends of the town goodbye, and sees the mansion and Marnie one last time as she is taken back home. Also starring Catherine O'Hara as the Elderly Lady, Ellen Burstyn as Nanny and Kathy Bates as Mrs. Kadoya. The cast dubbing the voices into English are all chosen well, it is a fairly simple story of a pubescent tomboy girl unknowingly going back in time to meet the younger version of her relative, it is perhaps more realistic than previous films from the studio, no magical and fantasy elements as such, it hasn't got quite the same charm as these other films, but the animation is fantastic, overall its not a bad animated drama. It was nominated the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film of the Year. Worth watching!

Based on a popular children's novel from Joan G. Robinson, this anime film from Japan's celebrated Studio Ghibli transposes the setting from Norfolk, England to modern Japan, and tells the story of lonely 12 year old Anna who is sent to live with relatives in the country for the summer for the good of her health, after she suffers an asthma attack at school. She soon becomes fascinated by an old mansion nearby, and Marnie, the strange girl who lives there. This may well be the final Studio Ghibli film, and if so, while it may not be among the very best of Studio Ghibli, then this is still a fantastic note to go out on. This is a visually stunning film, with a heartfelt and affecting story about friendship and family. I would say that it might be disturbing for very young kids, because it is very dark in places. For anyone though, this is a beautiful, heartwarming film, that is sure to bring some tears by the end.I just hope that this is not the end for Ghibli.