My first highlight this week is From up on Poppy Hill produced by the famous Japanese animation studio that brought us the beautiful Spirited Away and Ponyo, Studio Ghibli.
My first highlight this week is From up on Poppy Hill produced by the famous Japanese animation studio that brought us the beautiful Spirited Away and Ponyo, Studio Ghibli.
Studio Ghibli was founded in 1985 by two filmmakers Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata who were keen to breathe new life into the Japanese animation industry. Not only did they revitalize the anime genre, they gave it a sense of wonder, magic, love and whimsy. Films such as Howl’s Moving Castle, My Neighbour Totoro, Arrietty and Princess Mononoke as well as the aforementioned films are moving family orientated dramas that quietly dig deeper than your average Hollywood studio animation.
In 1998 Hayao Miyazaki left the company he’d created to make way for younger talent, however a year later he returned. His latest film The Wind Rises is premiering in Venice this week, and yesterday Studio Ghibli’s President Koju Hashino announced Miyazaki’s retirement, again. He leaves behind an extraordinary legacy, one that will continue to bring joy and amazement to families everywhere.
Here are my highlights for the week.
Featured Voices: Sarah Bolger, Chris Noth
Directed by Goro Miyazaki
Premieres Saturday 7th September, 8.30pm
From Up on Poppy Hill is set in the early 60s when Japan is at a turning point. A nation recovering from the Korean War and looking forward to hosting the 1964 Olympics, From Up on Poppy Hill tells the story of a teenage girl Umi who is grieving for her deceased father, looking after her grandmother’s boarding house, as well as attending school. At school, she meets a young man called Shun, the leader of a group of students trying to save a students’ clubhouse from demolition. The clash of holding on to the past and adapting for the future permeates this film and it’s characters relationships. It’s a delightful, poignant and realistically animated film from Studio Ghibli, and a must for lovers of anime. Interestingly, Disney, Studio Ghibli's frequent USA distributor, turned down From Up On Poppy Hill, as they were worried about its profit potential. The film took a total of $61 million at the global box office.
Starring Catherine Frot, Sandrine Bonnaire and Wladimir Yordanoff
Directed by Safy Nebbou
Premieres Tuesday 3rd September, 8.30pm
Starring two of France’s most accomplished actresses, Angel of Mine (also known as Mark of an Angel) is a compelling and uncomfortable psychological thriller based on a true story. Elsa (Catherine Frot) is an emotionally imbalanced mother battling her ex-husband for custody of her young son Thomas. When she meets Lola, the younger sister of one of Thomas’s friends, she becomes convinced Lola is in fact her dead daughter she lost in a fire six years ago. Elsa befriends Lola’s mother Claire (Sandrine Bonnaire) and begins stalking the family, unraveling more and more as her obsession takes over her life and sanity. Full of tension and excellent performances, Angel of Mine is a chilling affair.
Starring some fantastic wigs
Directed by Sue Bourne
Premieres Thursday 5th September, 8.30pm
Honestly, you've got to see the outfits in this documentary by filmmaker Sue Bourne as she follows contestants preparing and competing in the 2010 Irish Dancing World Championships. It’s a fun, predictable documentary and like similarly structured films such as Spellbound, is filled with a varied and interesting cast of players. Those with some interest in dance will get the most out of it; the overwhelming impression for the layperson is that the world of Irish dancing resembles an energetic child beauty pageant. There’s no doubt it’s a tough sport/art, but it’s the expensive beaded dresses, layers of makeup and excessive wigs that are the most memorable and slightly disturbing images you’ll take away with you.