Featuring a classic combination of Ghibli themes and elements that audiences have come to love and recognize, this film has everything from depictions of nature and Japanese culture to interesting boats, cars, bicycles, and unique fantasy-like settings. If you loved Totoro's tree cave, Howl's moving castle and Chihiro's bathhouse, then you're in for a treat as this film features another unique building / setting full of life, color, and mystery.
The Quartier Latin, however, is not the only thing that comes to life in this movie. From the protagonist's house to the town where she lives as well as the city of Tokyo, every single place featured in this movie has an air of magic and adventure. Rather than magic, however, this film's focus is definitely on history, for it is set in 1960s Japan. Given this not-so-distant past, the story inevitably becomes laced with nostalgia, originality, and a timeless beauty.
Despite its interesting historical aspect and appeal, the story itself is somewhat lacking. Since this is not unusual for a Ghibli movie, I was hardly surprised or affected by this fact. Furthermore, the plot was also hardly surprising and fairly predictable, as was the slow pacing and the occasional moments of boredom and tediousness. Despite the writer / director throwing in some uncharacteristic plot twists, character development and plot progression remained largely inexistent, but again, I wasn't particularly surprised.
As always, it was the art and the music that saved the day for me. No matter how boring or uninteresting the story would become, I could never look away from the screen given the gorgeous settings mentioned above. Furthermore, there were also many beautiful landscapes featured throughout the movie, and the usual attention given to details in the background was simply impossible not to admire and appreciate. From book titles to grains of rice, the attention to detail and intricate art used in this film is not only an ode to Studio Ghibli, but also to Japanese culture as a whole. This further reinforces the feeling of nostalgia and classic-ness, for despite coming out only five years ago, the art style and look of the characters is not so different from those we may have seen ten, twenty, or even thirty years ago. (Though I am personally not a fan of all these characters looking like exact, plain, carbon copies of each other, it definitely makes the Ghibli trademark familiar and recognizable while also giving the film a bit of a "retro" feel).
Despite everyone trying to trick you into thinking that this movie was in fact made in the 60s (or perhaps a decade later, at most), its high, modern quality, its vibrant colors and its funky background music will tell you otherwise.
Although no longer composed by Joe Hisaishi, the soundtrack still feels like a unique combination of old-school and modernity. While the original music sounds fun and sleek, the addition of actual songs from the 60s seem to take you back in time as well as to match the overall mood and tone of the story pretty well. The song used in the beginning is a cute and interesting tribute to the traditional Japanese breakfast, while the one at the end is almost unbearably beautiful.
If it wasn't for these two positive aspects, my review would have mostly been negative due to all the problems this movie had as well as my general dislike of Studio Ghibli. However, I must give credit where credit is due and I have to admit that watching this film was fairly enjoyable. Although I probably wouldn't watch it again or recommend it to my friends and family, I would definitely recommend it to someone who is a fan of Studio Ghibli, Japanese culture, or simply beautiful art coupled with beautiful music. As always, I would also advise you to keep your expectations pretty low and your mind pretty open if want this movie to be at least remotely memorable rather than entirely outstanding, amazing or surprising.
