#11 - Whisper of the Heart
My second movie on February 10 (and fourth of the weekend) was Whisper of the Heart, another film in the Studio Ghibli non-Miyazaki series. The Cinematheque description was excellent: "...tells of a well-read teenage girl who discovers that all the books she checks out from the library have previously been borrowed by another individual. She sets out to find this person..."
The two leads, Shizuku and Seiji, are fleshed out substantially better than your average cinema teenagers. This doesn't mean they don't act stupidly (hey, they're teenagers) but at least their actions mostly sense based on what we know about them. Sadly, the books in the description are more of minor point than a plot driver. Instead we spend an awfully large amount of time watching Shizuku follow a cat around, who ultimately leads her to the shop Seiji's grandfather runs. And from there, the plot more or less loses velocity. Seiji goes to Italy to see if he really wants to be a violin-maker. Meanwhile, Shizuku locks herself in her room to write to test her passion for the art. Take Me Home, Country Road is butchered by several different musicians. There's a sweet happy ever after ending that feels totally contrived and doesn't fit with the rest of the movie.
Despite the negativity of the previous paragraph, I actually enjoyed this movie. It was certainly better than Only Yesterday. I think the problem is that it follows two teenagers doing things I'm not particularly interested in. If you like YA fiction this may be more to your taste than it was to mine.
How Much Fun I Had in the Theater, 2013
Rank. Order - Name. Date; Theater.
The two leads, Shizuku and Seiji, are fleshed out substantially better than your average cinema teenagers. This doesn't mean they don't act stupidly (hey, they're teenagers) but at least their actions mostly sense based on what we know about them. Sadly, the books in the description are more of minor point than a plot driver. Instead we spend an awfully large amount of time watching Shizuku follow a cat around, who ultimately leads her to the shop Seiji's grandfather runs. And from there, the plot more or less loses velocity. Seiji goes to Italy to see if he really wants to be a violin-maker. Meanwhile, Shizuku locks herself in her room to write to test her passion for the art. Take Me Home, Country Road is butchered by several different musicians. There's a sweet happy ever after ending that feels totally contrived and doesn't fit with the rest of the movie.
Despite the negativity of the previous paragraph, I actually enjoyed this movie. It was certainly better than Only Yesterday. I think the problem is that it follows two teenagers doing things I'm not particularly interested in. If you like YA fiction this may be more to your taste than it was to mine.
How Much Fun I Had in the Theater, 2013
Rank. Order - Name. Date; Theater.
- #6 - Harvey. Sunday, January 27; Capitol Theater.
- #4 - True Romance. Sunday, January 20; Cleveland Cinematheque.
--- Above this Line, Awesomeness --- - #2 - Lincoln. Tuesday, January 8; Westlake Regal
- #5 - Django. Tuesday, January 22; Capitol Theater (Cleveland Cinematheque production)
- #8 - The Mercenary. Friday, February 8; Cleveland Cinematheque.
- #10 - Chicken With Plums. Sunday, February 10; Cleveland Cinematheque.
- #1 - The Well-Digger's Daughter. Sunday, January 6; Cleveland Cinematheque.
- #11 - Whisper of the Heart. Sunday, February 10; Cleveland Cinematheque.
--- Below This Line, I Was Bored --- - #9 - Lady in the Lake. Saturday, February 9; Cleveland Cinematheque.
- #7 - Only Yesterday. Sunday, January 27; Cleveland Cinematheque.
- #3 - 8 1/2. Sunday, January 13; Cleveland Cinematheque.