Studio Ghibli Thoughts: Whisper of the Heart

Whisper of the Heart was the first full-release Studio Ghibli film not directed by either Isao Takahata or Hayao Miyazaki, with longtime Ghibli animator Yoshifumi Kondō taking the helm. It is difficult to watch this film without feeling a sense of loss and regret that Kondō passed away three years after his directorial debut, both at the loss of the man and what he could have achieved as a director considering the promise he has shown in his first film.

Based on a "Girl's Manga" by Aoi Hiiragi, Whisper of the Heart is a slice-of-life romantic movie about two adolescents falling in love. Yet, when that simple premise is given the full Ghibli treatment, it no lo longer remains simple and the whole material is elevated. Instead of a simple love story, it becomes a tale about youth becoming the protagonist of their own stories and the associated difficulties with achieving a semblance of their dreams. The two protagonists, Shizuka and Seiji are defined as much by their passions as they are by their eventual relationship.

 

The film unfolds from Shizuka's perspective, which allows Kondō to cram in the details of Tokyo life in as many frames as he likes, grounding the work to reality. Learning that Seiji is planning to become a violin maker and train in Italy, she attempts to find her dream by writing a story. This story becomes the backdrop of the "fantasy" sections of this film. The realistic anguish of Shizuka, as she struggles to find her place in the world, is given a through-line with her translation of John Denver's "Country Roads", which was specifically selected by Miyazaki for its thematic importance to the film.

 

Overall, this is a very good slice-of-life film, but I am not sure if it gains as much from Studio Ghibl's animation as their other work. Besides the "fantasy" section in Shizuka's novel, which I don't think adds much to the film, I feel that this is one of the few Ghibli films that can be fully converted to live actions without losing a beat. True, iconic scenes such as when Shizuka and Seiji sing "Country Roads" in the basement of his grandfather's shop would land differently, but I still feel that this film doesn't take full advantage of the medium.

This is why I cannot agree with the Ghibliotheque podcast (an excellent podcast about Ghibli films) in their ranking of this film as number one in the Ghibli canon. While it's inarguable that this is a brilliant film, I feel that the pacing of the fantasy scenes and a rather weak ending pull it down to being a Mid-Tier Ghibli film. Of course, as I often stress, a Mid-Tier Ghibli is still a masterpiece in its own right.