Movie Review - "When Marnie Was There" 07/19/14 JAP

This is a movie review for "When Marnie Was There", released July 19, 2014 in Japan. This is a Studio Ghibli movie.


I heard about this through researching for "Ringu" (1998). [My review of "Ringu" here.] The actress Nanako Matsushima played the main female character [Reiko Asakawa] in "Ringu" and also was the voice actress for the aunt on "When Marnie Was There", hence finding out about this movie. Since I thought that "Ponyo" was the last Studio Ghibli movie, I had to watch this.


I watched this movie with Japanese audio and English subtitles.





Trailer:
(Watch this with the closed captions for the English subtitles.)

Cast:
Sara Takatsuki ("Joker Game" (2012) Kana Ono, "Ishikawa Goemon" (TV Mini-Series, 2016))   -      Anna Sasaki (voice)
Kasumi Arimura ("I Am a Hero" 2015, "Flying Colours" (2015) Sayaka)  -      Marnie (voice)
Nanako Matsushima ("Shield of Straw" (2013) Atsuko Shiraiwa, "Ringu" (1998) Reiko Asakawa)   -    Yoriko Sasaki (voice)







Plot:
An adopted girl (named Anna) feels out of place at her school and at her home, especially after she finds out that her "aunt" is getting a subsidy for taking care of her. After a problematic episode of asthma, Anna goes to visit her "aunt"'s sister in the countryside. It has clear air so it should be better for her asthma.

While she is in the countryside, she finds a strange mansion on the other side of the bay across from the town. She also finds a strange girl living in the mansion. She falls in love with the girl but finds out that the girl isn't necessarily on the same level of existence as her. Who is this girl Marnie?







Criteria:
0/5 – No value whatsoever. Absolute waste of time.
1/5 – Barely worth any time.
2/5 – Pathetic but has a bit of something to hold the attention a little.
3/5 – Somewhat kept the attention but could definitely have used more.
4/5 – Good, but not awe-strikingly amazing. Could have maybe used a bit more to the movie.
5/5 – Go see it! Wonderful movie all around – characters, music, theme, storyline, etc.


5/5 - This is a wonderful movie. It has a lot of issues addressed, like what family really is (Anna's "aunt") and becoming more sure of one's self.

As a Studio Ghibli movie, I still think it is slightly below that of "Howl's Moving Castle" but I definitely rank this one higher than "Ponyo" and "Castle in the Sky". As an anime, I HIGHLY recommend this movie. If you are not one for animation nor for foreign films, this might not be according to your tastes. However, if you are okay with foreign films [and cultures and languages], I would say try this one out for the artistry that comes with Studio Ghibli movies. I would recommend watching it in Japanese with English subtitles, but that's just me.

Oh, and warning: TEAR-JERK ENDING!