Only Yesterday

Only Yesterday (1991) - Japan

This is going to be a difficult one to try and sell.
'Only Yesterday' is a movie released by Studio Ghibli, however it is not one of Miyazaki's films. Rather it's written and directed by Isao Takahata with Hayao Miyazaki as the producer. It has been released on DVD but it hasn't been dubbed (which isn't a problem as far as I'm concerned.) I believe this is because Disney, who currently holds the rights to distributing Ghibli films in North America, has no idea what to do with this movie. I'm gonna try and describe it though.

'Only Yesterday' is about a young woman named Taeko, a typical single 27 year old living and working in Tokyo during the early 80s. The movie follows her as she takes a vacation to visit her sister's family-in-law in the country. As she travels and stays there for the duration of her trip, she recalls memories of her 10 year old self growing up in 1966 in Tokyo. She feels she's recalling that time in her life because it was an awkward period of growing up, and she feels she's going through another of what she calls a 'catepillar stage'. And.... that's it really.

This is the kind of movie where if you're an impatient movie watcher or some-one who dislikes mood pieces you're going to complain that it's "So boring because nothing happens!" (in which case I please ask that you leave.) But I find this film really moving in a strange 'get under your skin' kind of way.

Perhaps it's because Taeko's childhood isn't shown through the rose-tinted glasses people often tend to use when describing what it's like to be a kid at that age, but rather as it probably more likely was. There is a lot of awkwardness, uncertainty, frustration and selfishness that just comes from being a child. Whether it's trying to work out your own complicated feelings for the boy in the next class who the other girls are teasing you about, your really frustrating older sister, your terrible grades and how it affects your already fragile relationship with your parents or having to deal with all the really over-inflated problems of being a kid that, at the time, seemed life-ending.
What doesn't help is Taeko's parents. As an outsider watching this movie, you might think them to not be very nice people, but this isn't true. The film takes place during the mid 60s with Taeko the youngest of 3 sisters. Both her parents seem very melancholic, her mother soft-spoken and unable to understand her youngest daughter and her father almost absent from the rest of the family, saying very little and not showing much interest in his children or even wife for that matter. Looking at it, it seems a strong reflection of the time these childhood memories take place in. There were certain ways a wife and husband were suppose to behave, and trying to understand a newer generation in a rapidly changing world is probably just as frustrating for them as it is for the children.

And yet never is Taeko portrayed or spoken about like a victim. It's just a childhood, like any other. It had good times and a lo of it was frustrating simply because you were young and not in charge of your own life. My parents were very forward thinking with me as a child and yet I can still relate to these feelings, almost to the point of unpleasantness when I watch the film.

But the film isn't meant to be depressing or angsty. On the contrary, all her memories, even the bad ones, Taeko reflects on with nostalgia and fondness. They helped shape who she is, and remembering her past self, forces her to reflect on who she's become. Is she really where she wants to be in life? Is she living the way she wants to live, or how her younger self wanted to live? Her memories make her rethink herself, her life, her career and her view on the world as a whole. It's a subtle message, and one that can't be pleasant all the time, but it's an important one, and we follow her through it.

On an artistic note, the movie is directed in such a way that whenever we are in the 'present', the colours and backgrounds are all crisp in their colours, shading and lighting, whereas whenever we're in the past with young Taeko, they take on a more watercolour look, with colours more washed out and edges of the background sometimes not filled in properly. A pretty genius decision and one that reflects a lot truer to how memories are really recalled rather than some cheesy sepia tone.

I'm very happy to discover that despite breaking the mold in many places, (being an animated film aimed primarily at adults (specifically women) and strangely making the choice to record dialogue first before animation was done (Japan tends to do it the other way around)) the film was a major box office hit in Japan upon its release, received well by both genders.

If you're some-one looking for a more adult drama who doesn't mind some subtlety in their film, I highly recommend it. However if you're looking of the typical all ages comedy I suggest you look elsewhere.

Felidae

Felidae (1994) - Germany

Today I'm going to talk about one of my favourite animated movies, Felidae. If you've never heard of it don't feel too bad for it. Felidae is a 2D animated movie from Germany with an 18 age restriction slapped on it. Because of the nature of the story, the film has never been released on DVD in America and its VHS release was heavily edited (read "butchered"). Interested yet?

If you haven't seen the film or heard of it, your first assumption is probably that it's a weird German movie with the high age restriction because it's some pornographic art film that's going to try and draw parallels to some or other human condition in overly complicated dialogue. And you'd be wrong.

The best way to approach Felidae is to think of it as similar to Watership Down if Watership Down was about cats instead of rabbits and involved a murder mystery. Oh, and if the plot of Watership Down revolved more around sex. I'll explain.

Our main character is a tom-cat named Francis who has moved to a new upscale neighbourhood with his owner. Immediately upon arriving he discovers a murdered tom-cat in his new backyard and upon closer inspection, believes it was a murder done by a fellow cat. Being highly intelligent he decides to try and solve the murder of what turns out to be 5 murders happening around the neighbourhood. As he follows the clues and tries to discover the identity of the murderer along with the help of Bluebeard, one of the neighbourhood locals, he discovers all the murder victims were tom-cats who pursuing a female in heat. The more he uncovers the more it becomes apparent that this is by no means the work of a lunatic, but the murders all seem to have a very specific purpose and reason behind them, closely linked with the act of sex.

I love this movie. I really really do. The only reason I even learnt it existed was when my mom rented the VHS one day and, even though I could tell it was heavily edited, I was still intrigued by its genuinely intelligent plot, Francis as the likeable intellectual in way over his head, the strange cult-like environment surrounding the situation and just what happened in this neighbourhood to lead up to the events in the film. And the biggest mystery, who the murderer was and why he was doing what he was doing.

I am always a fan of animated films who aren't afraid to show their teeth without devolving into something purposefully trying to shock and manipulate you with its level of violence or sexual content. Although both are present in the film and the violence extremely graphic, it is a movie made to tell a good story, not a vehicle for the filmmakers to try and create some kind of cinematic art piece to impress or annoy the critics.

The film is by no means perfect. Its pacing can feel like its going at a run through some of it, but when you try and adapt a 253 page book into a movie just over 80 minutes long. It is
possible, but it's going to feel a little fast at some points. Luckily it never reaches the point where it feels hyper-active. There are also a few places where there's some weird editing, especially one scene in particular where the dialogue from once scene literally bleeds over the dialogue in the next scene during the crossfade. There is also another scene where Francis isn't given enough time to adjust from one emotion to the next and so there's a bit of a 'flip-switch' mood change. It also boasts a theme song with some really silly lyrics. Also, I feel the film's last few lines could have been worded slightly better, but that's a minor nitpick.

And yet I can't dislike the film at all. The story it tells is I just find so intriguing and worth following and I love it for using the animated film genre into a more adult frame without needing to animate it in some super stylised manner that makes it impossible to identify with the characters as real 'people'. And I love any film that makes me think when I watch it without getting confusing or too abstract. 

A scene I really love is when Francis discovers the VCR in the basement. There's a lot of subtle emotions going on there without needing to explain to the audience what's going on. The film believes its audience to be as intelligent as it is.

The film has been dubbed in english and despite my dislike for dubs, the english voice acting is actually pretty good. It has been released on DVD but only under the PAL format and the European Region 2. Luckily it's not too hard to find. Several are on both Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com, so if you're interested look it up. I also highly recommend the book of the same name by Akif Pirinçci which has also been translated into english.

Just be warned though, it is exceptionally violent. So if you're the type to get upset at seeing animals get hurt either by other animals or people I don't recommend this film. And never show it to your kids. Ever. I grew up with Watership Down since age 4 and I am still  telling you this is not a film kids should watch.

If you feel you can handle the violence though I strongly urge you to seek it out.

Robin Hood

Robin Hood (1973) - USA

I was going to start this blog with a more obscure animated movie, but I found myself watching Disney's Robin Hood instead.

Robin Hood is a rather humble movie for Disney standards. It was made during a difficult period for the Disney Company and as such was made on a relatively small budget. It is by no means considered to be one of the Disney giants and isn't as fondly remembered as the more classic films such as Sleeping Beauty or The Jungle Book which came before it. However, with that said this film has a personal meaning for me.

When I was young my cousin had this film on VHS and I would almost always watch it when I visited her. I am pretty sure it is thanks to this film that I still love the 'loveable rouge' archetype character to this day as well as the hero of a story being smaller and not as strong as the bad guys and so has to be smarter and quicker to compensate for it. So although it is by far not perfect, I tend to have a very large soft spot for it.

The only real true problem of the movie for me, even as a child, was the reuse of animation from other Disney films, something done to help the small budget. Although I was still a kid I could tell immediately which sequences had been used in previous Disney movies, particularly the animation lifted from the Jungle Book. Luckily this is only during the one scene.

I adore the character of Robin himself in the film which has a lot to do with his voice (voiced by Brian Bedford) with a true english accent and confidence to it. While on the topic, the dialogue in places is a lot more understated than other Disney films and I found myself laughing at jokes that I don't even remember hearing as a child.

Back to Robin though, I always loved his no compromise attitude in the film. That he isn't just courageous when he's being sneaky and stealing but can also stand up for his opinions even when tied up in front of Prince John with the royal guards' halberds pointed at him. To date he is still one of my favourite Disney male characters despite not having a lot if any character development throughout the movie.

There is only one real sad thing about this movie for me and that's the unused alternate ending as revealed on the "Most Wanted" DVD release of the film. In it, When Robin jumps the burning tower of the castle and lands in the moat he is actually shot by an arrow while escaping. Little John comes to rescue and carries him away to safety. However, prince John and Sir Hiss are hot on their trail, following drops of blood from Robin's wound to Friar Tuck's church. (I swear, I'm not making this up.) They see Little John leave and enter the church where the find Maid Marion attending to the unconscious Robin. He pulls a knife to kill them both when King Richard enters, back from the crusades. Appalled by how Prince John has treated the country in his absence, King Richard wants to banish him but decides not to as to abide to his mother's wishes and instead imprisons him. He then comforts Marion and voices his thanks to Robin for helping to keep the people of the country alive in his absence. We cut to a later date where Robin is knighted, little John is made a duke and King Richard orders friar Tuck to marry Robin and Marion. We end the film with the wedding.

I will never understand why THIS version of the ending was not used! It truly gives the film a lot more weight and fits the rather dark tone the film gets around the end of the second act. My only theory is that it must have been a budget thing. I can honestly not think of any other reason. personally I consider the cut ending to be my headcanon and it breaks my heart it wasn't used.

So perhaps not the strongest animated film ever, but it's enjoyable in its own right, however I admit if it didn't have Robin in it I wouldn't care at all. As it is however, it is one of only 2 Disney films made using the new Xerox style of the 60s until the early 80s that I actually like. (The other being Sword in the Stone.) But then with the lovely animation by Frank and Ollie as well as Don Bluth it's hard to dislike for some reason.

It is far better than it's 55% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and I am glad in this case to see the audience does not agree with the critics, giving it a 78% on the same site.