Review: When Marnie was there
February 05, 2017As soon as I heard that this would be Studio Ghibli's last film, I immediately rushed to check out the trailer which sadly wasn't an english dub, however the wonderful song they used in it was. The lyrics are beautiful and are summarised perfectly with the film itself. 'I never had that many friends growing up, so I learned to be okay with just me' hits you like a ton of bricks just like the opening lines from Anna herself "There is a magical circle in this world that no one can see. Those girls are in the circle, and then there’s me, on the outside. But I don’t care about any of that. I hate myself" as she sits on a bench, sketching alone.
The story begins with Anna, a young girl who suffers with asthma and underlying depression due to her family's past which is revealed later in the film. She moves away to stay with her Auntie and Uncle on a small island where the air is clean and there are fields everywhere you look. Her Auntie and Uncle I felt were very important within the film as Anna is a foster child and although they were not blood related, they still cared for her and understood her needs and wants to be alone and didn't shout at her when she did something wrong. They are also extremely kind and warm-hearted towards her even though Anna barely speaks to them but not out of spite but due to her introverted nature.
Anna doesn't transfer to another school whilst she's staying there, she instead goes and sketches by a tidal inlet. This is where she sees a beautiful manor house on the other side and decides to go and explore before the tide comes in. Once over on the other side, she meets Marnie, a beautiful blonde who's impulsive and eager, the complete opposite of the shy lead role. I thought the two had a very strange relationship, one of which I thought saw Anna falling for Marnie, not only as a sister-like figure but one whom she loved unconditionally. This is where you see Anna fully blossom; she never had a friend before now and never truly knew what love was until she goes on adventures with Marnie.
But there's something magical and rather strange to this film. Marnie disappears during the day and only comes out in the evening and cannot travel further than the Manor House. This is no problem for Anna but when she comes to visit during the day by off chance of seeing her friend, she sees that the house is having work done to it and it looks completely different to the glamorous landscape it appears to be during the evening. She still goes over to see if she can find Marnie but instead is faced with a young girl called Sayaka, who now lives at the house and who has found Marnie's diary in her new room. The two set off to find out who Marnie really is and find out what happened to her.
The film deals with very important topics such as psychological and physical abuse and depression but presents it in such a way that children can still understand. I was left feeling very lost after the film had ended because it was somewhat similar to Up; where the ending although finishes how you want it to, you still long to find out more about what happens to the lead role.
I absolutely adored the film not only because it appeals to both young and old but because of the respect that is given to such issues and topics within it. I found it very intense to watch and it is an absolutely stunning animation. I highly recommend to anyone as you will not be left disappointed.
0 comments