Only Yesterday [DVD]

Nostalgic reflection is nearly always a sure-fire route to artistic success. Some of my favourite novels such as Alain-Fournier's "Le Grand Meulnes" and L P Hartley's "The go between" demonstrate how successful nostalgia can be as a subject when handled with expert care and attention. For me, "Only Yesterday" manages to achieve the same high standard not only in cinema but also in the animated medium. "Only Yesterday" is proof, if it is needed, that animation can produce cinema as effective as anything with live action. As a recent fan of Studio Ghibli's work, this is the most creative and artistically successful film they have ever made and stands head and shoulders above more celebrated films like "Spirited away." I think that the film's achievements are attributable to a number of factors. To start with, despite this film is only available in Japanese with English sub-titles, the script is exceptional. It works on three levels:- as conversation in the present, as a reflective and profound monologue upon the past experienced by the prinicple character Taeko and ,utlimately, in the scenes that take place when she was ten years old. The childhood scenes seem to resonate with truth in their depiction of awkwardness and serve to show how society changed in the decades that followed the 1960's. Take for example the scenario with the new experience with the recently introduced pineapple which is dealt with in a bittersweet fashion that obviously attempt to replicate Proust's famous madelaines. It goes without saying that the quality of illustrations from this studio are of the usual high standard but "Only Yesterday" offers two styles of images. The "recent" scenes are all drawn in the familiar Ghibli style. On the other hand, the scenes with the 10 year old Taeko set in the 1960's feature backgrounds which are a kind of washed out water colour with the characters seem a little more cartoonish although with no less expression. I felt that this was a brave decision by the film makers and totally inspired. It also allows a few liberties to be taken with reality such as the conclusion of the scene where Taeko meets the base-ball playing friend who has a crush on her in a street and both characters are too embarrassed to say anything other than to ask each other what their favourite kind of weather is. I found this scene to be especially effecting and it ends in a totally unexpected fashion. However, the film's trump card is not played until the film appears to have ended when Taeko boards the train home to Tokyo from her holiday in the countryside. As exceptional as the film had been up to that point, I felt this was truly the icing on the cake. It is not difficult to explain why a film about a 27 year old woman reflecting upon an awkwards childhood should appeal to this 40-something, male reviewer. Despite being set in Japan, it shows that childhood has plenty things about it which are universal and nicely records how seemingly insignificant events can have a bearing on how a child develops. Most people will be able to recognise many of the incidents recounted in this film themselves regardless of their gender. "Only yesterday" is also very much a "feel good" film even though this is a film that has been made by people with intelligence and vision. The only point that I felt to be slightly uncomfortable for me were the scenes concerning "female development" which did shock me a bit but the whole issue was dealt with in a delicate fashion and it served a purpose to illustrate Taeko's embarrassment. Ultmately, it did manage to retain a degree of dignity as well as humour. Not a subject that you would expect to encounter in cinema but I doubt if it could have been dealt with more sensitively as in this film. Much of the film's success is also due to the fact that Taeko is a modest and admirable character. The parts of the film concerning struggling at mathematics also amused me - the first time I've ever seen the questioning of the logic of dividing fractions by another fractions! I'm on Taeko's side with this one! Another scene shows her responding to a younger child in a fashion that contrasts earlier with her own treatment at a similar age by her parents and older sibblings. Miyazaka's film are usually notable for their strong, female characters and it is difficult not to fall a little bit in love with Taeko who is one of Ghibli's finest creations. She is not a 2-dimenstional character and finely etched as a very admirable human being in a superior piece of script writing. In conclusion, this film is not only the most exceptional film from the Ghibli stable but also one of the finest pieces of film-making from the 1990's. "Only yesterday" offers ample reason to jettison those reservations about both foriegn language films and animation. An essential addition to any film collection.

Please note that this movie is in Japanese language only but does have subtitles.I’m not a fan of anime or manga if truth be told but I’ve always had a soft spot for Ghibli movies. They’re always beautifully animated, well voiced and feel like they have been created from a place where they want to entertain and not just about ticket sales. A lot of love and affection goes into these movies and it feels like their goal is to tell a heartfelt story and this movie is no exception.The story is about a young woman who has nothing to show for her years of work. She has no family around her, no partner and nothing of any real value. So during the Summer she decides to take a holiday to the countryside to visit some old friends and family. However, along the way her ten-year-old self comes along for the journey as she reminisces about her time at that age.We see her life as a young girl as she recalls her memories of first beginning to have feelings for a boy in her class, to the troubles that girls of that age of through, both mentally and physically, to even the feelings of remorse for things she did that she wished could be changed.The flashbacks are animated in a washed out style where the backgrounds are faded along with the edges of the screen. This works brilliantly to give it a hazy feel of remembering the past.The aspect I love about this movie though is how the children act. It is spot on in every single way and you can tell a lot of attention went into capturing the behaviour and the attitude of school age children. The girls gossip and spread rumours, the boys act foolish around the girls and so on. It’s really hard to explain but once you see it you will also be amazed at how they’ve done it. Put it simply, they feel like real children acting rather then what adults think children act like.The movie itself however is not the best Studio Ghibli movie. While it is of course made to a high standard it lacks the spark that Spirited Away or KiKi does. I also felt that some areas, mainly the flashbacks were too short and I really would have liked to seen some more of that story. I also feel that some of the flashbacks don’t quite match up and can feel a little jarring.If I’m honest though, I can’t see this making too many top five Ghibli film lists and is probably quite a forgettable entry when compared to other films the studio has made. I also don’t think children will find it to be that entertaining.While visually excellent it is again grounded in reality so there is nothing here that pushes the bar. It is clear that this movie is all about the story and not the spectacle.That being said, it is still an cheerful movie that you will come away from feeling good. A nice film but not a must see.