Whisper of the Heart (1995)
“When the afternoon air currents mix, we can even touch the stars without fear!”
Director: Yoshifumi Kondo
Cinematographer: Atsushi Okui
194 notes
·
View notes
Choices and consequences.
-
-
-
-
(Hopefully by this point you’ve finished all 111 minutes of 'Whisper of the Heart’, the kind of person who isn’t bothered by spoilers, or are just deciding if you still want to keep watching.)
-
-
-
-
-
I would say that 2002′s ‘The Cat Returns’ wouldn’t be so much as a fit for me. This is what I expected when I rewatched ‘ Whisper of the Heart’ (which was released 7 years earlier).
Then I realised one way to appreciate the former: by assuming that Shizuku actually wrote ‘The Cat Returns‘. We are merely thrown in the fantasy world she penned.
If it is 7 years later, does that mean they are married? I’m going to assume that Seiji would have more restraint than that. I’m picturing Shizuku reading her story (of course the book is longer than the film ---- so....whatever the runtime is...would be the author event reading highlights from their recent book).
Alternative? Seiji is in Cremona reading Shizuku’s story for the first time.
PS: Though I’m overjoyed that Netflix has the bulk of the Studio Ghibli collection available...I’m not so crazy about the captions not matching the audio. One theory I had was that they just used the English captions based on the Japanese audio.
--------
HIGHLIGHT:
(1:27:02 ---- transcribed based on audio...not captions. So if you think there should be a correction. Let me know!)
INT. TSUKISHIMA APARTMENT (DINING ROOM/KITCHEN) - NIGHT
SHIZUKU sits hunched across her dad, awaiting her fate.
SEIYA
Honey, could you come in here? I'm having a talk with Shizuku.
ASAKO
(OS)
Sure. Just a second.
ASAKO take the seat beside her husband.
SEIYA
All right, Shizuku. You have something that you do...that you think is more important than studying?
The child nods.
SEIYA
Will you tell us what it is?
SHIZUKU tenses. Her eyes are still fixed on a spot on the dinner table.
SHIZUKU
When I can tell you, I will.
ASAKO
Shizuku, can't you do whatever it is once your exams are over?
She meets her mother's eyes.
SHIZUKU
I have to do it now. I only have three weeks until he...
She turns to her father.
SHIZUKU
It's that...I promised myself I would reach a certain goal...
She bows her head.
SHIZUKU
...or I'm not good enough.
ASAKO
Good enough for what? Why do you need to prove yourself?
No reaction from SHIZUKU.
ASAKO
We can't help you unless you tell us what's going on.
SEIYA taps his box of cigarettes and reaches for one.
ASAKO
What could you be doing that you couldn't even tell your mother and father about?
SEIYA lights up a cigarette. ASAKO notices.
ASAKO
Honey, please.
SEIYA
Oh, Sorry!
He takes one last drag, put his hand close to his mouth to guide the smoke towards the other direction, and puts it out on the ash tray in front of him.
A heavy silence sits.
SEIYA
You work so hard in whatever you're doing, I know it's important to you. And I truely respect that.
He turns to his wife.
SEIYA
Honey, why don't we let Shizuku do whatever she thinks is best?
ASAKO turns to her husband.
SEIYA
Not everyone needs to follow the same path.
SHIZUKU looks up. Eyes round with a combination of wonder and surprise. Better be not argue when you're winning!
ASAKO
Hmmmm. Well I have to admit
SEIYA leans forward.
SEIYA
Okay, Shizuku. Go ahead and do whatever your heart tells you. But its never easy when you do things differently than everyone else. If things don't go well, you only have yourself to blame.
SHIZUKU nods.
ASAKO
[captions read: "And join us at mealtimes, all right?"]
SEIYA
That's right. We want to see you once in a while.
--------
My verdict of the film: 7/10
Link to the timestamp commentary: None (Unfortunately...my first viewing of the film was before I started doing them) :(
5 notes
·
View notes
Whisper of the Heart (1995)
My rating: 7/10
It takes a while to really get going (and, given that it's a slice of life type story, it isn't exactly thrilling even then), but it's beautiful to look at and quite charming, and you come to really like the characters.
1 note
·
View note