Change Your Image
ko-ricker
Lists
An error has ocurred. Please try againReviews
Umi ga kikoeru (1993)
Charming slice of life film
Really well animated film, especially knowing it came from Ghibli's "junior" producers. Overall I enjoyed it, especially the little bits of humor here and there. The main girl character was extremely unlikable, but a good character. I found the dynamic between the two boys interesting and compelling. Their friendship was honestly more interesting than either of their relationships with the girl. And I will say that I'm not sure I exactly believed that they were both in love with her, mostly because she was so truly selfish and immature. So the ending seemed a little trite to me. Also, this might be unfair, but I always go into a Ghibli film hoping for something that will spark wonder and amazement, and this film definitely didn't have that magic element (literal or figurative). Still, well worth the watch.
Kaze tachinu (2013)
Banal and not in a charming way
Miyazaki is my absolute favorite director, so it especially hurt to be so disappointed by this, his supposedly last film. It's about a real person, a Japanese engineer who designed WWII fighter planes. Miyazaki loves his flying machines, and this guy, who was apparently opposed to the war, was a huge inspiration to him. But the movie is unbearably boring, and I think a big part of the problem was that it was based on a real person. I mean, a lot of Miyazaki's movies are relatively slow. Movies like Totoro or Kiki's Delivery Service feel very pensive. But he's very inventive and imaginative, and you always get that he has something important to say, about the environment, or the importance of self-reliance, for example. But with this film, he was somewhat restricted to real events, and it just didn't feel as flexible or meaningful. He introduced this absolutely bizarre dream character in a series of dream sequences, and I HATE dream sequences. They made the film feel gimmicky rather than innovative.