Only Yesterday

I really had no idea animation could be so touching and moving. A young woman on her way to the countryside to help out with some farm chores keeps getting flashbacks of her 10 year old, 5th grade self. That may sound boring, but instead I was riveted from beginning until the heart warming finish, enjoying her memories along the way. We all carry around with us such kind of memories-having trouble with a particular subject in school, flirting with members of the opposite sex, being teased by classmates or older siblings, misbehaving and being severely punished, not getting something we really wanted and on and on. While she was having her flashbacks, I was having mine, making it all a very personal experience. Her life has been shaped by her memories, and now she is guided by them as she comes face to face with a momentous, potentially life-altering decision. Even if she was only an animated character, I got so bound up in the story that I desperately hoped for her to make the right choice. Sometimes I even forgot that I was watching an animated movie.

We've all seen those "coming of age" movies that transition the protagonist from childhood into puberty, and there's heaps of "discover your inner child" movies to put some fun in your life or life in your fun or whatever -- Only Yesterday is a rarity: Unsure and a little lost in her urban complacency, Taeko finds she must step beyond her inner-child shadow before she can grow up and move on with her life.

Only Yesterday isn't about grade-five, it's about being 27 by way of grade-five. It's a story about stepping out of our childhood, like the way we finally, and graciously, say goodbye to a worn-out favourite pair of shoes, or when, once we get to our destination, we can thank a particularly helpful bus driver and disembark.

Ugh, that's not much of a review, is it. Fortunately, Takahata says it all ten thousand times better than this :)

This is the question to be asked, even for the fans (like me) of "grave of the fireflies". Compared to all the other ghibli movies, this real masterwork has been unfairly unrecognized. Forget about the anime you watched so far, it's completely different, more adult, more realistic, more... life-like. No big eyes (well, the flashback are somehow "very 60's", but that's the purpose!), no screams, no ultrasonic voices; just characters treated as they were true actors. For example the pineapple scene or the mathematics exercise scene are the most incredible daily life pictures i've ever seen! And the final credits will have you wipe some tears... Watch it and make your friends watch it too. Don't be surprised by its length. It's fun, sad, real, touching, moving whatever you want... I still dream it will be released abroad, one day... who knows? Talk about it around you and maybe this could happen. Takahata definitely deserves it!

This movie has all of the grace and beauty of Grave of the Fireflies, without the oppresive depression. Takahata has such an eye for detail and subtlety; the characters' observations about life and coming to terms with who you were and are when combined with the beauty of the animation and scenery are poetic and elgiec.

What could be a trite romantic tale instead blossoms into art due to the hyper-realism of Takahata's story-telling.

This movie requires some work to understand, but the effort is rewarded generously. Even though its been just a few minutes since I finished watching it, I can already tell that the images and characters will be playing in my head for a very long time.

This move is an absolute gem -- see it if at all possible!

This is a very gentle and beautiful film, which could have been done as a 'normal' film with live actors, but it wouldn't have worked one-tenth as well; somehow doing it as an animation allows us to explore the characters much better.

It tells the story of Taeko, a 27 year old Tokyo office worker who goes to spend a few days in the countryside. She is at a stage where she is starting to question her life, and is haunted by memories of her 10th year.

One thing that stands out is that there is no great drama, the pace of the film is almost humdrum, the whole emphasis is on the development of the characters: this of course means that it will not be to everyone's taste.