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.