Hayao Miyazaki is the man known as the Japanese Walt Disney. He has produced some of the best animated movies that the world enjoys today. He is the man who made the critically acclaimed “Spirited Away”, “My Neighbor Totoro”, “Kiki’s Delivery Service” and many more. Recently Hayao Miyazaki declared that he will enter retirement, which isn’t surprising as the man is in his 90’s. He announced that the upcoming film “The Wind Rises”, written by Hayao Miyazaki and directed by his son Goro Miyazaki will be his last feature film.
“From Up on Poppy Hill” takes place in Yokohama, Japan in 1964. Japan will be hosting the Olympics this year and the country all over wants to update however there’s resistance to this in some areas. One such area is at the school in Yokohama, where an old building called Quartier Latin contains all the school clubs. However, Umi (voiced by Sarah Bolger) is only focused on her duties at home since her mother is away in America. Every day she needs to take care of the cooking, go to school, and raise the marine flags for her father to see. This changes when Shun (played by Anton Yelchin) takes an interest in her and he convinces her to help him.
Quartier Latin is going to be torn down to make way for a new building (to be fair though, the building is absolutely filthy and decrepit). However the two young students start to develop feelings for each other and like to spend time together. A secret some comes out that will either divide them forever, or turn out to be a misunderstanding.
To understand why this film is such a relief, you need to know what Goro directed previously. “Tales from Earthsea” is considered the “Bad Ghibli Film”, and for good reason. I remember renting it from the library and being both bored and melancholic through whole affair. The movie needed a skilled writer to sell the depressing world presented; Which Goro wasn’t equipped to do. He not only wrote it but directed it as well. Goro made the film look un-interesting, which is something you have to try to do when you have Ghibli animating the movie. It’s safe to say that while his writing needs work, but if you give him the right material the man can direct a good movie.
Miyazaki is very good at making his worlds seem interesting even when on paper they don’t seem so. It’s been said that “Ghibli films sound bad on paper but they’re beautiful films to watch.”. Umi isn’t some tiny adult who focuses solely on home and school and never smiles. She likes living with the tenants, her siblings, and her grandmother (played by Gillian Anderson, who gets top billing yet only appears for five minutes). Umi enjoys her life. She doesn’t like Shun at first thought, since he’s a showoff who jumps off a roof to get attention. You want to see her change with all of the developments made in the film.
Shun, however, goes through the most changes in the film and they’re quite subtle. He’s a reactionary character who gives believable reactions to the twist and turns expeirenced. He believes in Quartier Latin and only wants to protect a part of school heritage. He’s also fun and courteous which makes his rough character much better.
When I first watched this I felt that Umi and Shun’s story was fighting with the Quartier Latin. However, the more I thought about it, the more the two stories actually complement each other. The theme of the film is the past being needed for the future which is a good theme which is sometimes dropped with the subtly of an anvil on the foot. However, considering the setting and characters involved it mixed rather nicely. Add to this the soundtrack, which has a French and rustic feel, and you will have your toe tapping and be wanting a rocking chair.
Overall, this is another great film from Hayao Miyazaki and proof that Goro Miyazaki can direct a film. It seems pointless to say this, but the film looks gorgeous and really sucks you into its environment and makes you invested in its characters. I think that some people might be turned off by its humble story and no fantastical elements that are normally common to Miyazaki’s films. Now the more astute of you will be saying “Hey, how come I’ve never heard of this film? Don’t they market these films like crazy?” That’s because the film had a limited theatrical run and just came out on DVD by GKIDS instead of Disney.