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Whisper of the Heart

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Whisper of the Heart
Japanese film poster
Directed byYoshifumi Kondō
Screenplay byHayao Miyazaki
Produced byToshio Suzuki
StarringYoko Honna
Issei Takahashi
Shigeru Muroi
Takashi Tachibana
Keiju Kobayashi
CinematographyAtsushi Okui
Edited byTakeshi Seyama
Music byYūji Nomi
Production
company		Studio Ghibli
Distributed byJapan:
Toho
North America:
Walt Disney Pictures
Release date
  • July 15, 1995 (1995-07-15)
Running time111 minutes
CountryTemplate:Film Japan
LanguageJapanese

Whisper of the Heart (耳をすませば, Mimi o Sumaseba, lit. "If you listen closely") is a Japanese animated drama film and was the number one film in Japan in 1995.

It is based on the manga of the same name by Aoi Hiiragi. It was directed by Yoshifumi Kondō and written by Hayao Miyazaki.

It was the first theatrical Studio Ghibli feature to be directed by someone other than Miyazaki or Takahata, and the only film to be directed by Yoshifumi Kondō, who died in 1998 of a ruptured aneurysm at the age of 47. Studio Ghibli had hoped that Kondō would become the successor to Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata.

Plot

One summer evening in 1994, Shizuku Tsukishima, a middle school girl living in Tama New Town, a Tokyo suburb, looks through the checkout cards in her library books and notices a pattern: each book had previously been checked out by someone named "Seiji Amasawa". The next day at school, Shizuku shows her friend Yuko a draft of the song she has been writing for graduation. Walking home, Shizuku realizes she left her book at the school. She rushes back, only to find a boy her age reading it. He hands it back to her and comments on her lyrics, calling them "corny" — which leaves her feeling irritable for the rest of the evening.

The next morning on the train, Shizuku sees a large cat apparently traveling by itself. When it gets off, she follows it to an antique shop, where she sees a statue of a cat in formal clothing. The owner of the shop, Mr. Nishi, tells her the statue's name is Baron Humbert von Jikkingen. He also shows her a recently restored grandfather clock, that tells a tale of the King of the Dwarves and a Fairy Queen. Shizuku is in awe, considering the shop a place where stories begin. Shizuku notices that it is noon and rushes off to take lunch to her father, but forgets the lunchbox in the shop. Outside the library, the same annoying boy she had met the previous day returns the lunchbox. He comments on how much food is in the box and rides away, singing her song, leaving Shizuku in another foul mood.

At school, there is a tense subplot involving Yuko's romantic problems. After a dramatic resolution to this subplot, Shizuku goes to visit the antique shop again and finds it closed. The boy shows up: their third chance encounter. He lets her in to see The Baron. Downstairs, she sees his workshop, where he is making a violin. She asks him to play, but he insists she must sing along. Midway through the song, Mr. Nishi and his musical friends arrive and play accompaniment, forming the musical centrepiece of the film.

After the musical number Shizuku learns that the boy is in fact Seiji Amasawa, the same person who had checked out all the library books. She is furious, but the yelling-match ends in laughter for all. On the way home, he explains that his dream is to become a master luthier. He is fighting with his parents for the chance to go to Cremona, Italy to study with a master. He compliments her on her lyrics and tells her she is talented.

The next morning at school Seiji causes a comic uproar amongst the kids when he appears at Shizuku's class asking to talk with her. He tells Shizuku the news: his parents will allow him to go to Cremona for two months to study with a master to see if he shows potential. On the school rooftop the two confess their feelings for each other. Seiji admits that he checked out all those library books hoping to get her attention. That evening, Shizuku tells Yuko she worries she is not good enough for Seiji, since he seems to know what he wants to do in life. She decides to test her talent, too; she will write a book to see if her skills are good enough.

She asks Mr. Nishi's permission to write about The Baron. He agrees, provided he is allowed to be the first to read the story. Shizuku now devotes all her time to working on her book, and her grades start to slip. Her parents are concerned but, in a surprising twist, decide to trust her.

With the third part of the film emphasising the difficulties of finishing a creative work, and featuring spectacular fantasy sequences based on the work of painter Naohisa Inoue, Shizuku finally completes the book. Mr. Nishi reads it and tells her it is good but not yet polished. Shizuku breaks down in tears and ultimately decides that attending high school is the best way forward. Back home, she apologises to her parents for her behaviour during the past two months, and then falls fast asleep, completely exhausted, setting the scene for the denouement:

Very early the next morning, Shizuku awakes for some reason, looks out her window, and sees Seiji below. He tells her to get on the back of his bike, and they ride to a steep hill, which he says he wants to ride up carrying her. But she hops off to push, saying she wants to help, not be a burden. They make it to the top and look out at the incredible view, waiting for the sunrise. They discuss his future plans to study in Cremona. Shizuku thanks him for pushing her to do her best and learn more about herself.

At this point, rather surprisingly, and providing the fundamental twist in a coming of age story, the two young people in fact decide that: they should get married in the future.

This delicate issue is handled somewhat differently in the Japanese and English versions of the film:

In the Japanese version, Seiji fairly directly and sincerely proposes future marriage. In the English version, the sense is more that he declares he wants them to marry in the future. Nevertheless in the English version, the shocking and unusual conclusion that the young people decide to actually get married, rather than the more expected declaration of love, is clear.

To quote from the English version, voice actor David Gallagher says in English to Shizuku at 1:42:05 "It's that .. I know this might sound really weird to you, but could you see us getting married some day?"

(Another difference in the conclusion is that in the English version, Seiji is apparently returning to Japan for some time before going to Italy; in the Japanese version the sense is that he is immediately proceeding to Italy. Furthermore, the English version mentions more clearly that Shizuku will go on to become a writer.)

In the final moment, Seiji then hugs Shizuku (somewhat to her surprise) and loudly proclaims that he loves her. The closing titles of the film feature a street scene suggesting a generally happy conclusion for Yuko and the other protagonists.

The Conclusion

The surprise ending where the duo decide on marriage, rather than merely declaring love, is entirely due to Miyazaki and does not happen in the original manga. In the original novel the two young people simply declare their love for each other at the decisive moment, as one would expect in such a story with two characters of their age.

In the book _The Anime Art of Hayao Miyazaki_ (ISBN 978-0786423699), author Dani Cavallaro quotes Miyazaki's thoughts on the matter:

"I wanted to make a conclusion, a definite sense of ending. Too many young people now are afraid of commitment, and stay on moratorium forever. I wanted these two to just commit to something, not just 'well, we'll see what will happen'." (Page 119.)

Cast

Production

The fantastical backgrounds in the fantasy sequences of the film were created by Japanese surrealist painter Naohisa Inoue and were directed by Miyazaki. The wood engraving of the imprisoned musician was created by Miyazaki's son Keisuke Miyazaki, a professional wood artist. Japanese musical duo Chage and Aska's short music video, titled "On Your Mark", by Studio Ghibli was released along with this film. Miyazaki wrote the screenplay and drew up the storyboards used in the film, along with acting as the general producer. The film's art direction was headed by Satoshi Kuroda.

During the closing credits, Shizuku and Seiji can be seen at the top of the screen, riding over the bridge on Seiji's bicycle. Later in the credits, Yuko meets Sugimura on the bridge and they walk off together. On the American (Disney) version of the DVD, these closing scenes are fully visible in the English-language version of the film. However, in the Japanese-language version on the same DVD, the top of the screen is cropped during the closing credits, cutting off the heads of the people passing over the bridge.

Music

In the film, Shizuku writes new versions of the song "Take Me Home, Country Roads" (originally co-written and recorded by John Denver) for her school's chorus club. She also writes a sarcastic version, "Concrete Roads", about her hometown in western Tokyo. In the Japanese version of the film, the songs (in Japanese) were actually translated by producer Toshio Suzuki's daughter, Mamiko, with Hayao Miyazaki writing supplemental lyrics. These songs play a role at various points in the story. The well-known 1973 version of "Take Me Home, Country Roads" by Olivia Newton-John, plays during the film's opening sequence, whereas Yoko Honna's Japanese version plays out the final credits.

Release

This was the first Japanese film to use the Dolby Digital sound format. An English dub of this film was released by Buena Vista Home Entertainment on March 7, 2006. Turner Classic Movies televised both the dubbed and subbed versions on January 18, 2006 as part of their month-long celebration of Miyazaki (in honor of his birthday, January 5). The English title, Whisper of the Heart, was created by Studio Ghibli and used on several officially licensed "character goods" released around the same time as the film was released in theaters in Japan.

Reception

Whisper of the Heart was the number one Japanese film on the domestic market in 1995, earning ¥1.85 billion in distribution income. It received a number of awards such as Gold Award for Best 13th Annual Golden Gross, Best Director, Japanese Movie Award Best Adaptation, and National award for first-time director. It is on Terry Gilliam's Top 50 Animated Film list.

A spin-off film

Over the course of the film, Shizuku is working on a fantasy novel that revolves around a cat figurine, named The Baron, which she discovers in Mr. Nishi's antique store. "The Baron" was so popular with fans in Japan that in 2002 Studio Ghibli released a film (the story is completely unrelated to Whisper of the Heart) featuring the adventures of The Baron, titled The Cat Returns.

References

  1. "Kako haikyū shūnyū jōi sakuhin 1995-nen" (in Japanese). Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
  2. "Time Out's 50 Greatest Animated Films – Part 3 with Time Out Film - Time Out London". Timeout.com. Retrieved 2010-11-01.

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