Only Yesterday (1991)

Only Yesterday (1991), directed by Isao Takahata, 4.5 stars

Hayao Miyazaki's name is most closely associated with the animated films of Studio Gibhli, but his fellow director and animator Isao Takahata certainly deserves his fair share of accolades and a much wider audience, especially in the U.S.  Unlike Miyazaki, not all of Takahata's films have been dubbed by Disney for DVD nor do they circulate widely in theatrical release.  More important, and perhaps this is why the Disney studio has yet to devote more resources to Takahata’s films, they are not filled with spectacle and dazzling effects like those of his counterpart.  They are more often quiet, introspective, wistful, and even sad.  They deal with mundane matters, and they are incredibly affecting in doing so, especially if the viewer pays attention and allows them the time they require to build to their rich, if sometimes elegiacal epiphanies.

“Only Yesterday” is a masterly slice-of-life story of a girl in her twenties who is perhaps, plagued, perhaps, obsessed by memories of her childhood.  In the world of the early 1980s, the animated world of the elder Taeko is marked by vibrant, vivid colors. In contrast (literally), her younger days from the mid 1960s are painted more finely in lighter pastels.  These discernibly distinct drawing styles are not jarring, just sufficiently dissimilar to help the viewer differentiate past and present.

Small, unforgettable moments abound.  One particularly resonant sequence features Taeko and her family’s attempt to come to grips with their first grapefruit.  They’ve never seen one before, and they don’t know how to open it.  By the time they finally figure it out, they react as if the fruit has soured.  Taeko takes the last bite, seems to come briefly to a different conclusion, but then bends to the overall sentiments of the family.  This is one of several instances in which Taeko's younger self accedes to the feelings to others.

There are many other wonderfully human moments, such as when Taeko and a young boy in her school, each of whom is attracted to the other, meet unexpectedly and make an awkward attempt at conversation.  And then there's a particular sequence that you just don’t see occurring in an animated (or any other kind of) American film: 10 year old girls in a serious discussion of menstruation.  Suffering from a bad cold, Taeko must sit out her gym class, something she is loath to do because she is sure that her classmates will believe that she is having her period.  She’s not even begun ovulating, but because menstruation is the most common reason given for girls not participating in physical education, to her chagrin, nobody believes her.

I’ve read on a few sites that this sequence is the root cause of Disney’s reticence to dub the film and release it on DVD.  Apparently, their distribution agreement with Studio Ghibli stipulates that no cuts or significant changes to dialogue are allowed to any of the films.  No matter what the reason, it’s a shame that Disney has not released this film on DVD, dubbed or not, and I consider myself very lucky to have seen a pristine print in a rare theatrical setting.  This film is a real treasure.