the borrower arrietty (le petit monde des chapardeurs)
NNGH, Studio Ghibli, why do you do this to me? ;___;
Honestly, I think Ghibli'll do just fine if Hiromasa Yonebayashi's directorial debut is anything to go by. Also, this is definitely a movie to watch in theaters; the whole film is visually rich and full of details that are surely lost when not seen on a big screen. It's stunning. The eye for detail was pretty incredible; staples as ladders, nails as bridges, earrings and velcro as climbing gear.
Despite how much of a hardcore Joe Hisaishi fan I am, Cecile Corbel's OST was spot-on. Personally, I prefer Corbel's French version of Arrietty's Song over Corbel's Japanese and English version; the lyrics are much more poetic and touching. I also love the harmony at "je veux suivre mon coeur" that you don't get in the other versions. There's also a Chinese (?), a band arranged , and jazz version. I also prefer the image soundtrack the actual OST. I'm really fond of Departure at Dawn from the image OST despite/because of its cheesy lyrics. The lives I've found of Arrietty's Song are all in Japanese; I really want a live of the French version.
I think a film does pretty well for itself when my French isn't good enough to understand the whole thing, but you still get the feeling of it, and it had me wrapped around its finger at the end. I understood about half of what was said at best, but the animation/character's expressions were enough to fill me in on the rest. Alas, I'm much better at written French; I had no problems with the director's interview.
Here's one of the trailers if you haven't seen it yet. I still hold Arrietty looks fierce in this trailer when she gives Sho back his note and flower.
I am such a sucker for these endings where there's an almost-relationship (which, lol, I always insist on seeing romantically). But it would never work out anyway; this is a world where there is no solution for (I'm going to sound so shallow) they're obvious differences in height. Lol, my French wasn't good enough to quite understand all of Sho and Arrietty's farewell speech, but I'd like the imagine Sho said something like, "Arrietty, my heart is yours to watch now. You might forget, but I never will." Which, is totally not what he said. XD
...wait. In that review I just linked below regarding Whisper of the Heart, it says Sho said "You're part of my heart." OMG. Studio Ghibli why do you keep doing this to me? ;________;
There was some recurring images though from other Ghibli films. Both the opening and closing was reminiscent of Spirited Away, and I do see how comparisons (I think it was here) were made to Whisper of the Heart. Both Sho and Arrietty push themselves to be better people. And it also ends with the two on a cliff at sunrise. XD Thematically there was obviously the environmental stance, but also the theme of living. Spiller's almost shooting the arrow at Sho was also (probably unintentionally) reminiscent of Pocahontas to a T.
Spiller's also sporting a cloak a lot like Ashitaka's. I heard he's supposed to be younger than Arrietty, but I think he sounded older. It's also apparent he kinda-sorta-likes her by the end. And you know, despite my rabid fanshipper ways, I can't begrudge him if Arrietty finds her happiness with him.
And while, yeah, Sho comes off as kinda creepy at times (like this guy pointed out in either part 1 or 2), but in the bedroom scene, I felt it was appropriate. Arrietty's scared shitless. The rest, I felt, was more because he's so acutely lonely. Which, perhaps, Arrietty is too. By the end, I wasn't thinking he was an Edward Cullen level creeper; I was honestly touched by his teamwork with Arrietty to save her mother.
Oh, and of course. I'm sad that there is essentially no way for Arrietty to co-exist with humans; she and her family are off into the unknown wilds with Spiller. I'm also curious what's up with borrower culture; what's up with the diaspora, why they don't know where others like them are. But again, that could be because my French wasn't up to par.
tl;dr: Another excellent work from Studio Ghibli.
Honestly, I think Ghibli'll do just fine if Hiromasa Yonebayashi's directorial debut is anything to go by. Also, this is definitely a movie to watch in theaters; the whole film is visually rich and full of details that are surely lost when not seen on a big screen. It's stunning. The eye for detail was pretty incredible; staples as ladders, nails as bridges, earrings and velcro as climbing gear.
Despite how much of a hardcore Joe Hisaishi fan I am, Cecile Corbel's OST was spot-on. Personally, I prefer Corbel's French version of Arrietty's Song over Corbel's Japanese and English version; the lyrics are much more poetic and touching. I also love the harmony at "je veux suivre mon coeur" that you don't get in the other versions. There's also a Chinese (?), a band arranged , and jazz version. I also prefer the image soundtrack the actual OST. I'm really fond of Departure at Dawn from the image OST despite/because of its cheesy lyrics. The lives I've found of Arrietty's Song are all in Japanese; I really want a live of the French version.
I think a film does pretty well for itself when my French isn't good enough to understand the whole thing, but you still get the feeling of it, and it had me wrapped around its finger at the end. I understood about half of what was said at best, but the animation/character's expressions were enough to fill me in on the rest. Alas, I'm much better at written French; I had no problems with the director's interview.
Here's one of the trailers if you haven't seen it yet. I still hold Arrietty looks fierce in this trailer when she gives Sho back his note and flower.
Click to viewI am such a sucker for these endings where there's an almost-relationship (which, lol, I always insist on seeing romantically). But it would never work out anyway; this is a world where there is no solution for (I'm going to sound so shallow) they're obvious differences in height. Lol, my French wasn't good enough to quite understand all of Sho and Arrietty's farewell speech, but I'd like the imagine Sho said something like, "Arrietty, my heart is yours to watch now. You might forget, but I never will." Which, is totally not what he said. XD
...wait. In that review I just linked below regarding Whisper of the Heart, it says Sho said "You're part of my heart." OMG. Studio Ghibli why do you keep doing this to me? ;________;
There was some recurring images though from other Ghibli films. Both the opening and closing was reminiscent of Spirited Away, and I do see how comparisons (I think it was here) were made to Whisper of the Heart. Both Sho and Arrietty push themselves to be better people. And it also ends with the two on a cliff at sunrise. XD Thematically there was obviously the environmental stance, but also the theme of living. Spiller's almost shooting the arrow at Sho was also (probably unintentionally) reminiscent of Pocahontas to a T.
Spiller's also sporting a cloak a lot like Ashitaka's. I heard he's supposed to be younger than Arrietty, but I think he sounded older. It's also apparent he kinda-sorta-likes her by the end. And you know, despite my rabid fanshipper ways, I can't begrudge him if Arrietty finds her happiness with him.
And while, yeah, Sho comes off as kinda creepy at times (like this guy pointed out in either part 1 or 2), but in the bedroom scene, I felt it was appropriate. Arrietty's scared shitless. The rest, I felt, was more because he's so acutely lonely. Which, perhaps, Arrietty is too. By the end, I wasn't thinking he was an Edward Cullen level creeper; I was honestly touched by his teamwork with Arrietty to save her mother.
Oh, and of course. I'm sad that there is essentially no way for Arrietty to co-exist with humans; she and her family are off into the unknown wilds with Spiller. I'm also curious what's up with borrower culture; what's up with the diaspora, why they don't know where others like them are. But again, that could be because my French wasn't up to par.
tl;dr: Another excellent work from Studio Ghibli.