'Studio Ghibli' season continued...

'Studio Ghibli' season.

With my next review I really wondered which of the 'Ghibli' films I wanted to bring to you next. I gave you super sweet, I gave you ultra realistic and I became kind of stumped, there are so many to choose from and I would like to keep the theme of each film review varied, unique and fresh. Will that happen? I'd like to think so, so in the immortal words of a hero of mine, “Geronimo”.

#3 'Whisper of the Heart'

Director- Yoshifumi Kondo

Starring- Brittany Snow

David Gallagher

Cary Elwes

Plot

Shizuku is a 14 year old girl who does very well in school, she reads non-stop and has loads of fun with her friends. She seems to have her life pretty well put together until she comes across a name that will change her life forever. This is a coming of age film with a few twists and turns you don't see coming and a wonderful side story that will melt even the coldest of hearts.

You see I'm going to  get my own film and then we'll  see.

Good

The characterization of all the characters is superb as you really begin to worry for each character. Each trial and tribulation, each little individual heartache is wonderfully treated with tender loving care. The scenery is absolutely stunning, the artists for this film really knocked it out of the park, there are one or two scenes that will just have you staring in quiet wonder at their beauty. Since this film is a coming of age story and has a female character at its centre you may think that it will get very soppy and though you might be correct to a certain degree I can tell you right now it never complete goes overboard on the theatrics.There is a wonderful sequence that just comes out of nowhere in the later half of the film and it is so fantastic and spellbinding.

Ah love, it can really irk you some times.

Bad

I write this now as someone who is not really into love stories, at best of times they can be semi-interesting and decent, at the worst of times they can be vomit inducing. 'Whisper of the Heart' is somewhere in between, there are times where the usual coming of age cliches are avoided and I was impressed with how some problems were handled in a far more realistic fashion, however there are those moments of cringe inducing dialogue and sometimes a cliche is not avoided and I hear a little voice in my head go,”really”. Though I found every character to be interesting some of the minor characters that I found really interesting were not given nearly enough screen time. The grandfather for example had such a rich backstory that I felt we as an audience should have been given a little more closure on his story, but I suppose when you look at the film it is very much true to life and in life there isn't always closure.

A fantastic little shindig.

Ugly

It's a love story, it's a coming of age story, it's something that could very much have happened to any young woman and for that it's better than any 'Twilight'.

7.5/10

A guilty pleasure, but  still a pleasure.