Film Review: Whisper of the Heart（耳をすませば）

Whisper of the Heart - the courage to move forward while remaining unfinished

Hi, this is Yuki sensei! Today, I'd like to introduce my favorite Japanese movies on the topic of Japanese culture. Whisper of the Heart is my favorite story among Studio Ghibli movies, as it is a realistic coming-of-age work with less fantasy.

Produced by Studio Ghibli in 1995. Youth animation. 112 minutes.

Directed by Kondo Yoshifumi, screenplay by Miyazaki Hayao.

The original is the manga of the same name by Hiiragi Aoi-sensei, which was serialized in the manga magazine "Ribon" in 1989.

I saw this movie around 2002 when I was 6 years old. When I saw it as a child, I thought it was just a simple love movie, but when I watched it as an adult, I realized that it was a movie that depicted the growth process of people in life.

This work depicts a third-year middle school girl, Tsukishima Shizuku, struggling with her dreams and the path she should take, but gradually moving forward. It is a story that will reach everyone who has ever wondered, "What is a dream?" or "How do I find what I want to do?".

In Japan, compulsory education is from age 6 to 6 years of elementary school and 3 years of middle school. Therefore, we can assume that Shizuku is 14 years old. At that time, about 93% of children went on to high school after graduating from junior high school, and about 7% of children got jobs without going on to high school. Among them, boys and girls who want to become violin craftsmen or novelists without going to high school are in the very minority.

The setting is "everywhere" everyday life

Residential areas, slopes, libraries, and shopping streets in front of stations that are reminiscent of Tama New Town.

(※Tama New Town is the largest new town in Japan, planned and developed in the Tama Hills, which spans the cities of Inagi, Tama, Hachioji, and Machida in Tokyo. In response to the concentration of population in urban areas against the backdrop of rapid economic growth, new towns have been developed in the suburbs of cities with the aim of securing housing and improving living standards by developing public facilities.)

The setting of the story is not a special world, but a place that everyone has walked. A father who works at a library, a mother who goes to graduate school, and an older sister who is a university student who does housework in place of her mother and works a part-time job. In every scene, the family members are busy with some kind of work or study. In contrast, Shizuku has not yet thought about anything and lives as she pleases, but everyone around her is busy. This contrast is constantly expressed. In this everyday life, Shizuku reads books, writes stories, and tries to look for something she has not yet seen within herself. Her daily life is casually written, but when I think about it now, I am overwhelmed by her mother's graduate school in this era. (In 1990, the rate of women going to college was 15%, so graduate school was an even smaller minority.)

"People who have something they want to do" are dazzling

One day, Shizuku meets a boy named Amasawa Seiji who is looking for a book in the library. At the beginning of the story, Shizuku's father, who works at the library, talks about barcoding the library's books, and Shizuku is vehemently against it. In those days, there was a small note-like piece of paper in the inside cover of the book, which had the date of borrowing, the date of returning, and the name of the borrower written on it. The same person's name was on every book I borrowed. It was very romantic, and I remember being very envious of that situation even as an elementary school student. As Shizuku gets to know him, she realizes that Seiji has a clear dream for the future and is working hard towards it, one step at a time. Seeing him like that, Shizuku is keenly aware of the differences between her and him. "What do I want to do?" "I feel like I can't go on like this." She wavers. Seeing someone working hard with a dream gives hope to those who see it, but at the same time, it can also be a source of impatience. But it is these feelings that become the "starting point" for Shizuku.

Writing = facing yourself

In the story, Shizuku takes on the challenge of "writing her own story" for the first time. The story Shizuku is writing expresses her feelings. The scene where she flies through the sky with Baron (Baron cat doll) shows that she will overcome any wall. She finds a jewel in a cave, but it is actually a dead bird. This scene shows that she feels that her story is a failure. Nevertheless, Shizuku finishes writing the story and has Nishi(Seiji's grandfather) read it. Shizuku waits, watching the city at dusk. The scenery here makes Shizuku think that the world is too vast. Nishi tells Shizuku about his encounter with Baron. This episode represents Nishi's "unrequited love" with a foreign woman torn apart by war.

By depicting the theme from various perspectives, both good and bad, the story becomes more substantial. It is not just creation, but her first self-expression, "I want to convey my feelings to someone." As she writes, she realizes, "I am still immature. But I want to give something shape." Creating and expressing is the act of recognizing one's "gem" and trying to polish it. Shizuku's story gently scoops up the "unfinished self" that resides in everyone's heart.

Growth is acknowledging incompleteness

The appeal of Whisper of the Heart is that it depicts characters who are neither perfect nor successful, but are life-sized. Shizuku and Seiji are both in the middle of their dreams. They are still nothing, but they are trying to move forward. I think that when you accept that "incomplete self", you can surely grow one step. In the story, Shizuku writes a Japanese translation of "Country Roads", but the original lyrics and the Japanese translation are completely different. When I listened to the original English version after I learned to speak English, I was shocked and thought, "Huh? The lyrics are completely different from the movie lyrics!" It was the spring of my 17th year. The original English lyrics are about longing for one's hometown, but the Japanese translation of the movie sings of separation from one's hometown and independence, as shown below.

Lyrics in the movie

(Omitted)

ひとりぼっち　おそれずに　生きようと　夢みてた

さみしさ　押し込めて　強い自分を　守っていこう

I dreamed of living alone, without fear

I'll push back my loneliness and protect my strong self

(Omitted)

カントリーロード　明日は　いつもの僕さ

帰りたい　帰れない　さよならカントリーロード

Country roads, tomorrow I'll be the same old me

I want to go home, I can't go home, goodbye Country Road

Since the original manga doesn't feature this song, Hayao Miyazaki must have consciously written these lyrics for Studio Ghibli to reinforce the image of individual independence and choosing one's way of life. It's so profound that it's overwhelming.

That's why they want to watch it again at the turning point of their lives.

Just as I myself have been able to see my own way of thinking from a bird's-eye view by watching this movie as I have grown older, I think this movie will make viewers

When they are teenagers, they empathize with Shizuku, In their twenties, they remember the value of working hard like Seiji, And now that they are adults, they notice the warmth of the adults watching over them. Whisper of the Heart is a mysterious work that changes how you see it depending on the timing of your life.

When you're lost, when you feel insecure about being nobody, this story will gently push you forward. That is the gentle power of this story.

Finally

To you who are still nobody.

"Just the way you are, just as you are. You shine brightly."

You can hear that voice in the movie.

Yuki Sensei's classes will give you a deeper understanding of Japanese culture and history. Please share your favorite movies and your thoughts on them! See you in the next class!