No other film in the catalogue vibrates with the same deep emotion as Isao Takahata’s final film, arguably his masterpiece.
“Please! Let me stay a little longer! Just a little longer, to feel the joy of living in this place!” No other film in the catalogue vibrates with the same deep emotion as Isao Takahata’s final film, arguably his masterpiece. A clear culmination of themes he had explored throughout his career, this is a film that feels simple at first: an old-fashioned fairy tale about a magical girl who grows up quickly. It’s only two hours later, when you’ve experienced its emotions in their totality, that you can really appreciate what Takahata accomplishes here. With sparse, watercolor visuals that are nearly free of the visual flourish of the company’s prior works, Takahata focuses his audience on his themes instead of just his art. It is like a lovely musical composition for a single instrument — you can hear every heartbreaking note. In the end, it’s a story about nothing less than the transitive nature of human existence: We are all only here for a short time, and we should all feel the joy of living in this place.