Ranked #3575

Denshinbashira Elemi no Koi

A story of impossible love. Out of all the very many different patterns that have appeared in storytelling since tens of thousands of years ago, this is the one "Elemi's, the utility pole's love" follows. It's something you can tell from it's title alone. Most of us are more than familiar with such stories, the only thing this film replaces is the mermaid, the goddess, the tree or the star with an utility pole... although that would be oversimplifying its description, because there is a little bit more to the film than that. There are a lot of little details shown that make the film meaningful. It's something of an allegory, there is definitely more to it than what is revealed on the surface. What that meaning is, I think it's best if you find out for yourself by watching it.

The film is about Elemi, an utility pole that falls in love with an electrician when he repairs her after a storm. Of course, such a love is not meant to be and everything flows from that. It's an old story in a new form. The more interesting aspect of this telling of the story is the portrayal of Takahashi the electrician, the object of Elemi's feelings; the film shows what kind of person you'd most likely expect to be accepting of such an unknown and pursue a "relationship" blindfolded - a man that is alone and maybe lonely as well, a man that is content with his life but still carries a cup of sadness in his heart, a hole he'd like to fill with something. The characterization is pretty well done by showing us his lifestyle and actions, not through narration or some internal monologue. The other characters don't get the same treatment however, not even Elemi herself. It's never really clear why she "fell" for him… but on a second thought, we don't even need to have a clear understanding of that. Love is ambiguous, and this love story even more so.

This animation thrives more from creating a certain kind of atmosphere. It's an interesting portrayal of the uninteresting of the mundane, of the same-old day to day. So the interruption to this offered by Elemi is exciting and its consequences to the other "inhabitants" of the neighborhood explainably interesting. It's an unusual and fantastical mix of romance and slice of life, something emphasized in its visual style as well: stop-motion clay and puppet animation, a technique that's been rarely used in more recent years. It looks good, I at least liked it. I can't say it's a spectacular example of the use of this kind of animation but it is a very welcome break from the usual things like cell and computer animation. The sound and the not too many lines the seiyuu spoke are good as well, the soundtrack also, with acoustic guitar melodies interrupting the background noise from time to time, setting the mood pretty well.

"Denshinbashira Elemi no Koi" is a pretty slow-paced, mellow experience, one that lasts only a little more than thirty five minutes. I don't know if it's for everyone, but I think you could at least give it a try, maybe you'll like it too... read more