Whisper of the Heart (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

Whisper of the Heart is a 1995 Studio Ghibli film and the only film to be directed by Yoshifumi Kondo before his untimely death. Slated to be both Miyazki's and Takahata's successor, Kondo shows his skill as he successfully lives up to his would-be title. Whisper of the Heart is a fun and light-hearted coming-of-age story that has you smiling from start to finish. The film does a great job of making you love all of the characters, cheering them on each step of the way. Shizuku Tsukisma is a junior high school student who does what most girls her age do. She reads books in her spare time, talks about boys with her best friend, and spends most of her time making up songs, or adapting them from older westerns and singing them (These are things normal girls do...right?). The whole film revolves around the old John Denver song "Take me Home, Country Roads," and throughout the film Shizuku is trying to adapt the lyrics to help express her feelings for her junior high graduation. Shizuku also reads a lot and as a result of this, checks out many books from the library. Eventually, she starts to notice a pattern in the books she checks out: the have all been checked out by the same person before her. This sends Shizuku in search for the seemingly elusive Seiji Amasawa, and sets the story for our film. In May 2012, the North American blu-ray version of Whisper of the Heart was released alongside Castle in the Sky and the Secret World of Arrietty. The movie came shipped from Amazon in great condition, along with the sleeve cover (no bends or tears, the movie was shipped in a box with giant bubble wrap). Inside the packaging you have your standard bluray on one side, DVD on the other, as well as paperwork for a code to Disney Movie Rewards (something I would HIGHLY recommend you start taking advantage of. Signing up is free, and if you buy enough Disney movies, you might as well reap the full the benefits, especially at 35+ bucks a pop, MSRP). The English dub of Whisper of the Heart is one of the best I've heard and is just as enjoyable as the original audio to me. If you are, however, a stickler for the Japanese audio, the good thing about this release is that it comes with both a verbatim subtitle track of the English version, as well as the original translation subtitle track, so you get to choose. The only thing that I had a real problem with was the cover art. The Japanese releases on these films got way cooler, exclusive artwork, which would have been great, but of course that's not how these things go. Overall, I am very happy with this purchase, and I'm glad I own this timeless classic. I give the film a 5/5. Good luck getting Country Road out of your head! It'll be stuck in there for days after each time you watch this film.

I am a big Hayao Miyazaki fan (Spirited Away is one of my favorite movies of all time), and I thrive on his work- the look, the atmosphere, the "heart" of his characters. Note that I watched this in Japanese with English subtitles (not English captions for the hearing impaired, that's the American reworking of the dialogue). As an aside I cannot bear what Disney/Americans do to Miyazaki dialogue, ruin it every time (for me, anyway). But it's possible the English-dialogue version was somewhat better (I very much doubt it). I purchased the DVD to complete my Miyazaki collection. I love the look, the sound, the essential purity and goodness of Miyazaki's films, so after I got used to the fact that it wasn't a particularly magical or metaphysical film, like Spirited Away, I delighted in it (after several viewings). It's quiet, episodic, full of small happenings with big import. ***SPOILER ALERT*** There's gorgeous animation, atmospheric music, magical thinking, a mysterious cat, memorable people (e.g., an old craftsman), an interesting family dynamic, a sense that some things are preordained, and the oriental sensibility of the universe being animistic, alive- all very subtle. Will she study for exams or go to the library and check out extracurricular books? Does she like an enigmatic boy she keeps seeing around? Who does this strange cat belong to? The film is strikingly beautiful. I reveled in Shizuku's quest for meaning and purpose in life, in the notion of a young girl seeking a test (a la A Man Called Horse, perhaps) of her mettle, her abilities, along with her strength of character (it's subtle and underplayed though). This has mostly to do with the inner life of a junior high school girl, and I think that girls of that age and younger may find it interesting and appealing but wonder if boys and men, or older girls and women will. Unless you are ultra-sensitive and revel in slow-moving, episodic films, thrive on eye candy, and are especially moved by a young girl being treated as very important in the scheme of things, you might rent it or watch it online before buying. I liked it better with each viewing. I also recommend Spirited Away or Song of the Sea, both splendid in every way. P.S. I read other reviews after writing this, and many of the negative ones comment on disrespect towards parents and adults- there is NONE of that in the Japanese language version with English subtitles.

日本の声色とドイツの吹き替えだと声色が違うことに気づく。つまり、言語には独特な響きがあり、日本を舞台にしてドイツ人であれば、このように会話すると思うとネイティブジャーマンランゲージを取得する良い教材が映画と翻訳された漫画だと気づく。日常会話のドイツ語は覚えている引き出しから出せる単語が肝です。

As someone who has only just discovered Ghibli's films very recently, "Whisper of the heart" seems the most mature and profound of those films I have seen. Effectively it is a romance and this was what initially put me off buying this DVD. However, it soon becomes apparent that there is more to the story than this as it chronicles the principle character Shizuku's endeavours to become a writer by taking inspiration from her boyfriend's desire to learn how to make violins. Effectively, it is the tale of how she learns to follow her heart and not the career path her parents have laid out for her. On the face of it, this does not seem a compelling storyline yet the films swiftly transpires the college setting to explore family relationships in the kind of detail that would have garnered Oscars had the characters not been animated. All in all, I was gripped by this tale. Granted that the cover is deceptive (and actually refers to the characters in the story that the heroine eventually writes and has little to do with the main thrust of the story), the animation is never the less as stunning as you would expect from Ghibli. The panoramas of Tokyo are particularly well drawn. I suppose that this film's target audience was probably teenage girls yet Yoshifumi Kondo ended up creating something that transcends this which is a very good piece of drama in my opinion. As a result, the film will appeal to more mature viewers for it's strong narrative in addition to the obviously exceptional artwork. Whilst not as epic as the sometimes disturbing "Spirited away", I feel that this remains one of the best Ghibli's I've seen and Shizuku's behaviour is etched very convincingly. Previously I have enjoyed many of the Pixar and Dreamwork CGI animation films and would argue that films like Shrek are extremely inspired and intelligent in the manner that they appeal to children and adults at the same time. "Whisper of the heart" is a different proposition and endeavours to prove that hand-drawn animation can operate at the same level as "real life" cinema. Less maudlin and far better drawn than your average Disney, this film is a high water mark in the Ghibli collection.

Que peli encantadora!

Ce film d'animation des studios Ghibli sorti en 1997 n'avait à priori rien de particulier pour figurer parmi les meilleurs. Le graphisme est certes toujours aussi excellent mais l'histoire est un fait de tous les jours et s'éloigne des grandes fresques sur fond historique avec une grande part d'imaginaire, de fantastique. Mais c'est parce que l'histoire peut arriver à tout le monde que ce film finit par nos toucher : une jeune fille (Shizuku) qui tombe amoureux d'un garçon brillant (Seiji), qui se destine à devenir luthier, et qui, pour se mesurer à lui, tente elle-même de savoir quel sera son avenir en testant ses capacités d'écrivain. Les grandes questions que sont "Qui suis-je ?", "Que fais-je ?", "Que ferai-je ?" reviennent régulièrement et donnent de la matière à un scénario soigné et juste. Pour autant, l'aspect onirique des grandes réalisations Ghibli n'est pas absent : il fait partie intégrante du décor et naît de l'imagination de Shizuku, laquelle a une prédilection pour les contes, qui lui permet de s'évader de son quotidien. Par exemple, la séquence où elle suit un chat évoque fortement Alice qui suit le lapin et la boutique du grand-père de Seiji (située "dans" les nuages, dominant largement la ville) a quelque chose d'irréel (elle est d'ailleurs plus souvent fermée qu'ouverte, comme si elle n'existait qu'en songe). Et l'histoire que va faire Shizuru à partir de la seule statue de chat "aristocrate" aux yeux de lapis-lazuli, qui brillent de riches couleurs quand ils sont exposés au soleil, crée l'aspect le plus imaginaire de cette histoire finalement assez banale mais traîtée sur le mode de la poésie. Les personnages secondaires de l'histoire ne sont pas laissés pour compte : la soeur, qui la ramène sur terre ; les parents, qui échangent peu avec leur fille mais qui la soutiennent dans ses choix ; le grand-père, avec qui Shizuru établit une relation très intense et complice, qui manifeste beaucoup d'intérêt pour elle et ses amis, avec qui les relations sont finalement conventionnelles, malgré son amie Yuko, avec qui elle est plus intime. Enfin, la musique (essentiellement la chanson "Country Roads") parachève ce magnifique film pour tout public, n'était l'absence de sous-titres pour les non-initiés à l'anglais.

This is probably my favorite Ghibli movie and I've seen most of them by now. I wasn't sure I'd enjoy it as much as the art style is older and I'm rather picky when it comes to animations, but the story swept me away. This is a great film to watch if you're looking to both kick back and relax or be inspired. So glad I have it in my collection~