I hope I won't come across as too butthurt or annoyed, but Mimi wo Sumaseba is one of my all time favorite movies, and one of the three or four best Ghibli movies in my opinion. I was reading reviews on MAL and noticed that the most popular review managed to mention Miyazaki 6 times and not give any shoutout to Yoshifumi Kondo, the actual director.
I'll also give credit to Miyazaki, who wrote the script and storyboarded the movie, he's one of the reasons that movie ended up being so great, but to forget Kondo would be tragic.
This really is a Kondo movie, Miyazaki wanted to write a script especially for Kondo's singular sensibility, so he twisted the manga's original story just enough so it would be a perfect first Kondo film. It's also a movie about doing one's first serious work, the protagonist sets herself to write a novel and she encounters many anxieties, creative issues, epiphanies... This is a first movie about creating a first work, and for a film that proclaims that "it's okay to fail" it's ironically a masterpiece (imo). Such a different and subtler vibe compared to most of Ghibli's catalogue.
Again I'm not trying to diss the reviewer, I was just annoyed but it's understandable that one would not have the knowledge of who did what in order to make the movie work. It's just that knowing how Kondo literally worked himself to death (on Mimi & Mononoke, which he never recovered from) to deliver incredible animation and direction, it doesn't feel good to imagine most potential viewers will stumble on the MAL page and read the first review, having only Miyazaki in mind.
There is a reason Kondo was considered Miyazaki's right arm and that the plan was for him to inherit Miyazaki's position after his retirement. If that post could at least make some more people aware of how good this guy was, and also how forgotten he often was, working in the shadow of Miyazaki, Takahata and Suzuki (the three of which were/are famous at being tyrants who overwork their employees, to death in Kondo's case). It feels unfair since he contributed greatly to most of Miyazaki & Takahata's respective masterpieces.
Anyway, huge love for Mimi wo Sumaseba & Ghibli, sry for the big chunk of text.
Shoutouts to this Stevem video who describes quite well the movie's strenghts as well as the circumstances behind its making : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPbk2zf4-zQ |
