A short piece on When Marnie Was There
I have come to realize that you can’t simply switch on the television and start watching a movie. There is a perfect time or I would say a moment for a particular movie. After being hooked to Ghibli Studio films in June 2020, I started watching ‘When Marnie Was There’ in October but I guess, it wasn’t the right moment. So, I resumed watching it in Jan 2021.
Adapted from Joan G. Robinson’s novel of the same name, When Marnie Was There will leave you with a ton of emotions (especially with the grand revelation in the end). Although I connected the dots before the entire story unfolded, I still shed a tear and that’s the magic of cinema. The music at the end, the characters’ emotions, and the beautiful animation with amazingly composed imagery — when all of this comes together, we can literally feel as if we are a part of this imaginary universe.
Also, fun fact, the lead character, Anna is an introvert and extremely sensitive about her feelings and because of this, the film’s director Hiromasa Yonebayashi initially refused to make the film saying that it would be difficult to make an animated film out of it. However his interest renewed when he decided to draw the character and he felt that maybe through the drawings or the way of writing, he could perhaps also describe the feelings of the character. Check out the concept sketches in the images above that he made before beginning the work on the film.
This might not be the best of Ghibli studios for me but it’s definitely worth watching.
Movie Name: When Marnie Was There
Available on Netflix
