Fresh
The gorgeous score and subtle visual craft save this entry in the Ghibli canon from mediocrity. But given what the studio is capable of, it's not everything fans will be hoping for.
Catherine Bray, Time Out
Overview
Yokohama, 1963. Japan is picking itself up from the devastation of World War II and preparing to host the 1964 Olympics—and the mood is one of both optimism and conflict as the young generation struggles to throw off the shackles of a troubled past. Against this backdrop of hope and change, a friendship begins to blossom between high school students Umi and Shun—but a buried secret from their past emerges to cast a shadow on the future and pull them apart.
Director and cast
- Goro Miyazaki Director
- Teruyuki Kagawa as Tokumaru rijichô
- Masami Nagasawa as Umi Matsuzaki
- Junichi Okada as Shun Kazama
- Keiko Takeshita as Hana Matsuzaki
- Yuriko Ishida as Miki Hokuto
- Rumi Hiiragi as Sachiko Hirokôji
- Jun Fubuki as Ryoko Matsuzaki
- Takashi Naito as Yoshio Onodera
- Shunsuke Kazama as Shirô Mizunuma
- Nao Ohmori as Akio Kazama
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
Fresh
A departure for Studio Ghibli - an emotionally nuanced, nostalgic look at the past that is grounded in everyday reality but retains the humor and delight that are part of the studio's trademark.
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald
Fresh
Goro Miyazaki has a style that's both more painterly and more cinematic than the cartoonish norm, while his father's screenplay is a classic coming-of-age story that seems suited for a live-action remake.
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Fresh
In the wisdom of this artfully rendered film, Umi and Shun - and the viewer - come to learn that the past and the future should go hand in hand, that the best way to move forward is to reflect, and respect, what came before.
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
Fresh
The story of a girl grappling with first love, the absence of her parents and the anxieties of an on-rushing future in 1963 Yokohama has all the earmarks of a Miyazaki classic.
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
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