When Marnie Was There

When Marnie Was There is the latest and perhaps the last film from the legendary Japanese Studio Ghibli. The two giants of the studio, Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata have both gone into retirement and the studio announced that they will not be making any more films for now. Takahata and Miyazaki are responsible for some of Ghibli's greatest films such as Spirited Away, My Neighbour Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies. When Marnie Was There is directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi and is about the introvert girl Anna who is sent to the countryside to live with relatives. She becomes obsessed with a deserted mansion and the girl who lives there who may or may not be real.

Ghibli's films usually contains imagination and the focus is almost always on children but despite that, the films are not only meant for them and also often include deep meanings and thoughts. Ghibli has always been incredibly skillful in drawing and creating magnificent images and When Marnie Was There is no exception. The beautiful Japanese landscapes makes you want to travel there immediately and see the country for yourself. The film is told like a detective story and Anna finds and puts the clues together one by one. She is our guide throughout the film and what she experiences, we experience too.

When Marnie Was There has a story I believe many can relate to. Not being able to find your own place in this world and to feel like an outcast. Anna searches like many children do, for their place in society and at the same time she's trying to understand her life and situation. The film is also about strong friendship and love and why we are drawn specifically to some people. It's always hard for me to try and summarize Ghibli's films and explain why people should watch them. When Marnie Was There is a tale that absolutely works well as an entry to the magical world that is Studio Ghibli.

This Movie touches the human soul at many level. It depicts a child who has been abandoned, by her mother and then grandmother and later partly by her foster-mother, so she feels she can not depend on adults for security. It also shows the value of family and love and affection within the family. Unlike American movies where no one seems to have a family, where the only expression of love is trivial and sexual, here the emotions are deep and adult.

The movie elevates us to our higher beings, and that is why the experience is lasting, and enjoyable.

What I also liked about this movie is that the movie is pure and clean, and suitable for families again unlike American shows where there is always some agenda from some interest group. Here you are free to be yourself. below is in response to a perverted reviewer with mind in gutter who thought this move was misleading. Please do not associate yourself with this movie. This is obviously made for people with human soul, and not you.

One of the many pleasures you have when you watch a Studio Ghibli film is its colorful animation and When Marnie Was There is yet another perfect example of that. More impressively, the story the film tells is just as filled with colorful themes and plot points that you just wouldn't get from a Disney or Dreamworks animated film. When Marnie Was There doesn't pull any punches, but more importantly, the punches they throw at the audience mean something and will have an emotionally resonating impact for all viewers, not just kids.

The film tells the story of Anna, a young girl who spends the summer with her relatives close to open water, and finds a mysterious and seemingly abandoned mansion across the water. After drawing numerous sketches of the mansion, she finds her way across using a row boat. What follows after that is a legitimately mysterious plot that keeps the audience guessing at every turn. Is Anna seeing things? Is this all a dream? Which characters are hiding what? And so on. For most of the film, that technique works very well. But there are a few times when the secrets and potential reveals get a bit tiresome.

When Marnie Was There is a story about plenty of things like regret, loss, and neglection. But at the heart of the film is a story about friendship, and an unlikely one at that. Obviously, there's plenty of things about the plot that you can't reveal without spoiling anything, but Anna and Marnie's bond throughout is truly something special. It's a bond that is probably more satisfying when you watch it a second time and can appreciate it without having to keep your eyes pealed for the next secret to be let out.

The film is complemented by a beautiful score and a heart wrenching end credits song that is sure to get even the most stubborn of people to get teary eyed. But it's also a different kind of sadness than say a Pixar or Disney film can give you (exceptions of course). When Marnie Was There has a dream like quality to the entire story, but the devastating moments hit you like a ton of bricks. Even in its most unrealistic instances, you feel the same sorrow and happiness that the characters do.

+Score

+Story has just the right amount of dark moments

+Probably more depth than other animated flicks

+Bond between Marnie and Anna

-Mysteries perhaps get a bit tiresome

8.7/10

The last film to be produced under the Studio Ghibli banner before the acclaimed animation studio decided to take a break from filmmaking following the retirement of Hayao Miyazaki, When Marnie Was There is an elegantly crafted & gorgeously animated tale that intertwines dreams with reality as well as past with present, only to end up getting entangled in its own web.

Based on the novel of the same name, When Marnie Was There follows Anna; a 12-year old girl who takes a trip to a countryside town for health reasons and discovers an abandoned mansion where she finds an unlikely friend in Marnie; a blond girl. As their new relationship blossoms over the next few days & both get to know each other better, it is unraveled that Anna is more closely related to Marnie than expected.

Nicely directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, When Marnie Was There is his sophomore effort following his debut feature, The Secret World of Arrietty, which remains my favourite Studio Ghibli film to be not directed by Miyazaki. And although his latest is no doubt an ambitious work, its pay-off won't be rewarding enough emotionally unless the viewers try to connect the dots all by themselves by doing a little digging of their own.

The technical aspects are expertly carried out for each frame of it is sumptuously animated & vividly photographed from start to finish. Editing tries to juggle various elements of story at once & doesn't always succeed. However, there isn't any issue with the pacing for its 103 minutes of runtime never becomes tedious at any given moment. Also, the background score brims with tracks that infuse a soothing feel into the narrative.

The Japanese voice cast is only as fitting as the studio's previous works. However, it's the beautiful relationship between Anna & Marnie that leaves the biggest mark. The film can be viewed as a coming-of-age drama that follows the journey of Anna from a lonely & anxious girl at the beginning of the film to a more confident person later in the story. Marnie herself exhibits an aura of mystery around her that not only allures Anna but us viewers as well.

On an overall scale, When Marnie Was There isn't as magical as Studio Ghibli's finest films but its take on friendship & isolation nonetheless manages to cast a spell of its own in bits n pieces which makes its story captivating for a while. A love story, a coming-of-age tale & a deep journey into one's own past, When Marnie Was There may or may not benefit from multiple viewings but for now, it has to settle for an underwhelming experience in my book. Still, it's worth a shot!

I've nearly watched all animations by Studio Ghibli (and many others other than from this studio) and I can with certainty say that this one is the best animated one! It's like a live-action film with great actors :) Every single emotion is magnificently drawn! When you watch this animation, you shouldn't expect a thriller or scenes of action.. the story is widely dramatic and heartbreaking. It has lots of suspenseful moments that make you want to watch it till the end and the ending is really worth the wait! The anime is about family problems and a young & ill girl's way of dealing with it. One could say that it is her coming of age story which is not easy for her, so she finds a "friend", a mysterious foreigner who helps to find herself and make her see the world with different eyes ;) People who think animations are just for children or for younger generation are completely wrong! If you have prejudices, go and watch one and see it for yourself! I can recommend Spirited Away & Grave of the Fireflies. And I really can't believe that Studio Ghibli will take a break from filmmaking now... or will maybe never come back to it again. It's a mess! After seeing so much untalented people doing so many films and earning much money (especially those cheesy Hollywood animations), although for not deserving it, I'm aware of the fact that real artists should be praised! BTW: I don't easily give a film 10/10 ;)