But it’s at Konan Academy High School where much of the larger drama of the second half of the film takes place. Nobody can do old house interiors like Ghibli, and their work is on fine display here – every nook and cranny is lovingly detailed in all it’s grubby beauty. She cooks, she fixes lunches for her siblings, and every day she raises signal flags as a gesture to her father to let him know she still remembers him. This big old house on the hill serves as the backdrop for much of the film, especially in the first half, as mature and responsible Umi’s daily life is portrayed in loving detail. Umi’s mother is a professor who appears to be rarely at home, traveling the world to further study her unidentified field (in America as the film opens). Also living in the house is younger sister Sora ( Shiraishi Haruka), a year behind Umi at school, and elementary student brother Riku ( Kobayashi Tsubasa) as well as artist boarder Hiro ( Hiiragi Rumi). Her Grandmother is the dean of the household, Umi’s father having died during the Korean War when his supply ship hit a mine. Matsuzaki Umi ( Nagasawa Masami) is a high-school girl, living in the converted hospital that now serves as her family home and a boarding house. It’s fascinating to speculate how much of the true spirit of the film is the manga, how much is the father’s screenplay, and how much the directorial vision of the son. It’s a straightforward love story, a period piece set in Yokohama in 1963 – a simple film by Ghibli standards, more reminiscent of their earlier works than recent ones, more Takahata Isao than Miyazaki Hayao. Like it’s soundtrack, there’s an almost jaunty feel to the movie. It’s a Ghibli film through and through, but quite unlike any Hayao-sensei has directed in recent years. But let there be no mistake, Kokuriku Zaka Kara is clearly better. I wasn’t one of the many piling abuse on Gedo Senki, for the record – it was a flawed film, undeniably, but had some moments of true beauty (and as a huge fan of the books, I was a tough audience). theatrical run this summer), we can see and decide for ourselves. And now that the film has arrived on Blu-ray at last (it will also be receiving a brief U.S. So all in all, things seem to have improved greatly for the younger Miyazaki. It also won the Japanese Academy Award for best animated film of 2011. There was no public bickering during production or after release, and “Poppy Hill” was released to generally favorable reviews and went on to be Japan’s top-grossing film of 2011. For Gorou’s second feature, Kokuriko-zaka kara, Hayao-sensei himself wrote the script – adapted from a 30 year-old shoujo manga by Takahashi Chizuru and Sayama Tetsurou. Publicly at least, father and son appear to have patched things up – or at least declared a cease-fire. Gorou has generally taken the high road and not returned his father’s fire publicly – surely a wise decision – but when Gedo Senki received mediocre reviews and performed poorly at the box office by Ghibli standards, the long knives were quick to appear in the hands of the press. He then went on to criticize the film itself, which had to hurt his son pretty badly. LeGuin’s “Wizard of Earthsea”, was being finalized, Hayao was openly critical of his son, saying he wasn’t ready to be a director and he’d been given the honor too soon. And when Gorou’s directorial debut Gedo Senki, an adaptation of Ursula K. Hayao-sama has stated publicly that he was a terrible father, rarely spending time with his children. If it weren’t hard enough having to bear the weight of the Miyazaki name and legacy, Gorou has also had to deal with some painful personal issues as well. But few seem to want to foist that label on Gorou-sensei, for better or for worse. Makoto Shinkai (cold) and Hosoda Mamoru (a little warmer) seem to be the most popular victims of this particular curse (or recipients of the compliment, depending on your perspective) but in point of fact, there is a next Miyazaki out there – in name and genetics, at the very least. One thing’s for sure – it can’t be easy being Miyazaki Gorou.Īnyone who pays close attention to anime in its theatrical form has spent plenty of time listening to directors being called “The next Miyazaki”.
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