Film Synopsis
Taeko Okajime (voiced by Miki Imai) has always fantasied about the countryside. Having lived in Tokyo her whole life, a simpler, quieter existence promised by a rural farming community has been her dream.
These feeling go as far back as her elementary school days when her classmates would leave the city for holiday.
As an adult, Taeko decides to take a visit to her brother-in-law’s family 's farm in
Yamagata. While traveling, she begins recalling her ten year old self (voiced by Yoko Honna). Strong waves of
nostalgia rush in and the events of her current life stir many
memories that were once forgotten.
Arriving at her
destination, Taeko is met at the station by a cousin of her
brother-in-law named Toshio (voiced by Toshiro Yanagiba), who is there to bring her
to the family farm. Before this meeting these two were barely acquaintances, but they
really hit it off.
Taeko’s short stay is rewarding, enjoyable, and appears to be exactly what she was looking for. However, reality has a way of changing our outlook without warning. As the story drifts between past and present, the older Taeko must come to
terms with weather she is meeting the expectation of her younger self.
Film Positives
Is there anything about this
film that warrants it being animated? Not really. Could this movie have been made in
live action with little to no problem? Perhaps. Would I
have preferred live actors and settings over this one? Hell no. Only Yesterday is perfectly fine the way
it is.
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| Taeko (Older) |
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| Taeko (Younger) |
I absolutely loved this movie; more than I ever would've expected. I figured I probably would because Ghibli, but we’ve already seen some of the more well know entries in the studio’s filmography and there are some pretty big ones coming down the line. Only Yesterday was very pleasant surprise.
Realism
There's no magic, no mythical creatures, and no vast barren wastelands to take epic journeys in; only a farm community in rural Japan. What made this movie so interesting to me was how real it was.
Nothing was grand or uncommon. Everyone will have to or has gone through most if not all of the things Taeko has gone through; first
crushes, careers, family arguments. I want someone to give me an example of another movie where puberty is treated as an important time in a kid’s
life that simply happens; you know, like it is in real
life.
It didn’t matter if the plot
was looking at Taeko as an adult or as a child, both were fascinating for their
own reasons.
The first scene, out of many,
that portrayed this occured when Taeko was in grade school and a rumor got out about a boy from another
class who liked her. Sure enough there was some teasing,
but there was also a good amount of support. To make it even cuter, Taeko and
the boy didn’t really seem to mind the situation. Nothing came of it, but the
entire exchange was stupidly sweet.
The entire first half
of the film was mostly focused on ten year old Taeko. The adult version had
her moments, especially when she met Toshio; resulting in an amazing back and forth
between the two characters. This changed suddenly when Taeko
remembered the first and only time her father ever struck her.
It was a pretty abrupt jump back to reality because of how out of the blue it was. Taeko did break
a rule, but her father clearly overacted. This felt deliberate on the part of the filmmakers because of how awkward the scene got
for everyone involved. There's no lingering resentment from it, but it's defiantly
not a happy memory.
Another great moment came near
the end of the film and served as the start of the amazing final act. Taeko
loved her time spend on the farm, but she never once took a moment to
consider living there. When the prospect of doing just that came up, and it
came up in the most uncomfortably direct way, it threw Taeko’s mind into a
spin.
This entire scene was hilarious
because of how fast it spirals out of control and was a good representation of
people who don’t know when to shut the hell up. But it’s also very
important because it forces Taeko to actually think about what she wants to do
with her life.
Only Yesterday
went from charming, to cute, to thought provoking, to reflective, and then a
whole lot more. It never got nasty or mean, but things weren’t always perfect.
Can I believe somewhere there’s a person who's living Taeko’s
life right now; I'd actually bet money on it.
Film Negatives
There's a lot of eye candy
in this movie; most of it not pertaining to the story what so ever.
For example, Taeko
arrives at the farm right as sun is rising. The music gets insanely epic and
the scenery and imagery is absolutely gorgeous. Everything looks and sounds
amazing. Could it have been taken out; easily, but I’m really glad it wasn’t.
I could say the same for many
shots and scenes in the film. There are times when it seemed like the animators were just
showing off. I don’t blame them. If I could make what they made, I’d do the same
thing. There's a lot of unneeded fluff, but that’s totally okay.
One thing that might
put some people off is the fact that this is a dialogue heavy movie. This means
long conversations and venting. If you’re the kind of person that doesn’t enjoy
that kind of storytelling, sadly this is probably not a movie for you.
A shame because good
engaging dialogue is hard to do for a scene, much less a two hour film. Only Yesterday makes it look easy.
Final Thoughts
Before starting Ghibli month,
I had never even heard of Only Yesterday.
There are actually many Ghibli films where that's true.
While names like Totoro are giants, this one stands firmly side by side.
This is a wonderful story that
looks into the life of your typical twenty-seven year old. However, everything is powerfully relatable and it hits at many of the experiences many of us have had.
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