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View Full Version : When Marnie Was There (Hiromasa Yonebayashi)



Philip J. Fry
04-09-2015, 09:30 AM
http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/70cf1ff741cbbfc50e9acef8ca009e 161f08468b/c=0-0-1998-2663&r=537&c=0-0-534-712/local/-/media/2015/04/15/USATODAY/USATODAY/635646905477164781-Marnie-Poster-72dpi.jpg

The latest (final?) film by Studio Ghibli!!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJBTCf4laMA

IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3398268/) / wiki (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_Marnie_Was_There) / RT (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/when_marnie_was_there/)

Official website (http://www.marniefilm.com/)

baby doll
04-10-2015, 05:25 AM
It's pretty lame, muted to the point of lethargy.

Philip J. Fry
04-17-2015, 06:24 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-sixU3ZrXg
English dub trailer.

Philip J. Fry
04-30-2015, 11:36 PM
My extremely rambling two-cents.

What did I like? I could say the animation, but, well, it's Ghibli, of course it looks amazingly gorgeous. What I actually liked is how well this movie plays with expectations...I mean, initially this movie a not-so-subtle lesbic subtext: Anna doesn't feel like the other girls, she claims she wants to be normal, and when Marnie shows up, it increases tenfold, there's even an instance of jealousy and for like, half of the movie, it is played straight... and then it turns out she's relieving Marnie's past experiences? Or mind-time traveling? Or being like, a ghost? This movie never makes it clear, man, although Marnie's diary makes it seem like one of the first two options.
I feel so Shyamalan'd.

Marnie's story is just so heartbreaking, by the way and I like how her conflicts mirror Anna's so much at times, maybe that's why they click off so quickly, or maybe it's that other thing. Marnie's story here:
Anyway, it turns out, Marnie was a girl from 70-ish years ago that lived in this mansion, she was neglected by her parents and abused by the maids raising her, with only a guy there for her, she eventually marries the guy and have a child, he dies, she goes to a sanatorium and the girl to an orphanage and when she gets out of it, the girl resents her a lot, not unlike Anna, marries a guy, has a child and then both die in an accident, so the child, who you might now realise who it is, lives for a while with Marnie until she dies and the child is given in adoption.

Anyway, whatever this experience with Marnie is, it does leave quite a mark in Anna and makes her experience a remarkable, believable and heartwarming change. She finally starts to open up to the world, starts to be in peace with herself and her foster mother, she realises that was and will be loved, and along the way she gets another friend in Sayaka, life's looking up girl!
So yeah, a good, heartfelt, story with a good twist (and there were clues about it, so I didn't feel it cheap), it was a good time for me.

What didn't I like? Well, at times, Anna is quite unlikable, sometimes even feels a little whiny, whether it is with other girls or her adoptive mother, however her experiences with Marnie changes her and she gets better as a person and character. Also, it occasionally felt a tad melodramatic, but, not that much. It has a very weird feel after it's Shyamalan'd.
Mostly because the subtext still felt so palpable and if it's true... a lesbic thing with her grandma? WTF is wrong with you Fry?

Final thoughts: Good flick, quite bittersweet. Mid-tier Ghibli (which is not a bad thing, Ghibli is freaking awesome).

Peng
05-01-2015, 12:47 AM
Ghibli has always had a tendency to be too cutesy by half (characters talking to self, emotional outbursts), but in the hands of Miyazaki or Takahata, it has mostly felt in control or woven well with the film's mood. This one crosses the line quite a bit for me though, leading to more than a few cringey moments and some exasperating obviousness.


Still, after Kaguya, I thought this would be more light-hearted stuff, but as per Ghibli, it still unexpectedly has some strong emotional beats late in the film. Also, I have always been a fan of how Ghibli portrays countryside and nature, and this doesn't disappoint, with its almost unbeliveably gorgeous scenery and serene atmosphere.

Philip J. Fry
06-22-2015, 06:53 PM
Ghibli has always had a tendency to be too cutesy by half (characters talking to self, emotional outbursts), but in the hands of Miyazaki or Takahata, it has mostly felt in control or woven well with the film's mood. This one crosses the line quite a bit for me though, leading to more than a few cringey moments and some exasperating obviousness.At first it did for me as well and, I think, this was exacerbated because, unlike Arriety (Yonebayashi's previous film), the tone of this film is a bit more dark, making those moments, well, more accentuated.

Still, after Kaguya, I thought this would be more light-hearted stuff, but as per Ghibli, it still unexpectedly has some strong emotional beats late in the film.I actually found the film pretty sad throughout. It might look at first glance as light-hearted but this film is quite dark at times, I mean, child abuse, loneliness, growing up and the last minutes, the twist is actually pretty quite sad.
I mean, really, Marnie's life was for the most part horrible and it's pretty understandable why, if she had a choosing in the matter, she'd try to spend her time as a ghost with Anna and do the best possible job of helping her to overcome that loneliness and make her more open to others.

Also, I have always been a fan of how Ghibli portrays countryside and nature, and this doesn't disappoint, with its almost unbeliveably gorgeous scenery and serene atmosphere.Agreed. Pure scenery porn over there.