I was reading an excerpt from an essay written by Obayashi which was posted in the lobby of the theatre where I was blessed enough to catch a screening of a 35mm print.
It's well-known that Obayashi conceived of the key ideas for Hausu after his daughter came to him, scared by her own reflection baring its teeth at her in the mirror. He wanted to capture the strangeness of an inanimate object moving and attacking somebody - an object…
This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.
practical Sadako creatures were the only thing I liked
Upon first reading ルックバック, one of the first things on my mind, and on the minds of pretty much everyone who read it, I imagine, was: “Man, this would make a good movie,”
The same could be said of all of Fujimoto-sensei’s work, well-known for expert paneling which flows like a movie. It goes doubly so for Look Back, as its run consists of a single volume, and its story and subject matter resonates with anyone and everyone who has…
Inventive direction is the name of the game for this one. Uncannily beautiful, otherworldly imagery, and familiar, lived in spaces are rendered with ease and artistry you can only expect from this studio. My eyes were glued to the screen. Sound design also absolutely benefits from being seen in a theatre.
The story was simple, but tackled so many different themes with effortless grace.
To state it without spoilers: 君たちはどう生きるか is not just a adventure matching (if not exceeding) the scale of all of Miyazaki's best output to date, but also a question posed to the viewer.
