The Top 10 Films Of 2013 So Far

[h2]3. From Up on Poppy Hill[/h2]

While Studio Ghibli’s latest film premiered in Japan way back in 2011, it was not shown in American theatres until earlier this year, so it counts for the purposes of this list. And as well it should, for From Up On Poppy Hill is another gem from the world’s greatest animation house, one that harkens back to their ‘real world’ dramas of the 1990s, like Whisper of the Heart and Only Yesterday, to deliver a soft but powerful story about the passage of time, the importance of the past, and the possibilities of the future. It is an extremely dense and complex film in its own right – and I recommend reading my review, linked below, for a much fuller analysis – but I am, as always, blown away by Ghibli’s unparalleled capacity for understated human emotion. There is such tremendous authenticity to the way the film’s characters process loss and deal with family, and the emotions come through as purely and powerfully as ever here, if not more so. I do not doubt that the creative union of father and son – Hayao Miyazaki wrote the screenplay, while son Gorō, acquitting himself well after the disappointing Tales From Earthsea, directs – plays a part in this.

Narratively and thematically, Hayao Miyazaki’s fingerprints are all over this film, and that is a pleasure. But if the general atmosphere and precise emotions are not proof enough, the stupendous and unique animation clearly declares this as a work of his son, and I am overjoyed to see Gorō’s style and voice develop so rapidly. The major talent he shares with his father lies in illustrating pathos of all sorts, for without forcing emotion or cloying elaborately, the younger Miyazaki stages several subtle, beautiful sequences of characters dealing with grief, through both memory and the pain of present-day absence. One such scene – a dream, in which protagonist Umi imagines her family together and whole once more – stands as one of the most vulnerable, authentic, and devastating moments in the studio’s canon. From Up On Poppy Hill is not quite a masterpiece, as many of Ghibli’s films are, but it is a great one nevertheless, and easily among the best theatrical releases of 2013 so far.

Read my full review here.

From Up on Poppy Hill arrives on DVD and Blu-Ray September 3^rd.

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