Whisper of the Heart (1995)

Whisper of the Heart (1995), Yoshifumi Kondô, 4 stars

Yoshifumi Kondô’s first and, unhappily, only full-length feature of Japan’s Studio Gibhli is a wonderful blend of teenage angst and imaginative escapist fantasies that make coping with the awkward rebelliousness of young adulthood bearable.  Shizuku, the film’s heroine, has committed to reading 20 books during the summer and notices that every one she selects has been previously checked out a person named Seiji Amasawa.  Her idealized fantasy of this person is shattered when she discovers that he is a classmate and an egocentric braggart—at least that is her initial opinion of him.  Her journey toward reevaluating this first impression begins when she encounters a cat on the subway and follows it through back streets and alleyways to an exclusive area high above the city where it leads her to an eclectic antique shop.  She enters and is immediately entranced by a small sculpture of a dandified, two-legged cat.  The proprietor, an elderly gentleman who turns out to be Seiji’s uncle, informs her that this is the Baron.  For years, the shop owner has been searching for the Baron's companion piece, whom he has named Louise. This story fuels Shizuku's imagination, and she decides to write an elaborate novel featuring Louise and the Baron.

 

Featured prominently and, I must say, a bit bewilderingly in the film is the John Denver song, “Country Roads,” an extremely popular hit in the U.S. in 1971 and apparently in Japan a few years later when covered by Olivia Newton John.  But why this tune pops up as a central motif in a Japanese anime more than 20 years later is a mystery to me.  Its relevance to the plot revolves around Shizuku’s various revisions to the lyrics, which reveal her initial penchant and talent for writing.  I discovered an interesting tidbit while trying (unsuccessfully thus far) to find out if the song also figured in the original manga on which the film was based.  In early 2012, a railway company in Japan decided to use the song in a train station in the town that acted as a model for the film to alert passengers that a train is approaching.  (Click here for more details.)

“Whisper of the Heart” is yet another wonderful, understated contribution by Studio Ghibli in the tradition of “My Neighbor Totoro” and “Only Yesterday.”  These coming of age films all use imaginary elements—wondrous, forest monsters, fading memories of childhood, the statuette of a cat transformed into a high-flying muse—to gently nudge their young female protagonists into the next phase of their lives.  The films are sweet, smart, whimsical, and poignant--family entertainment (and fodder for discussion) at its best.