I’m going to be seeing The Girl Who Leapt Through Time again. And I don’t mean in the distant (December) R2 DVD-release future. I mean I’ll be going to see it again this week. This is one of those well-liked films that I was always going to get round to someday, and for this act I can but thank the benevolent critical consensus.
I’m sure that the general enjoyment of this feature by fans of all schools is a lot to do with our heroine. Makoto’s lively and flawed in the best possible way – with a witty selfishness and buckets of youthful charm. It’s a superb performance from her seiyuu Riisa Naka. When she laughs it’s with an exuberance which is almost embarrassing, in one scene with her running her wheezes were almost painful. Each emotion is perfectly in sync with the lovely art. It shows how a strong performance can pull you closer to the character. Even if you catch yourself admiring a perfect moment and so find yourself aware that this is after all a performance, it still feels too close not to be real.
She uses time travel in a realistically short-term way, gleefully taking advantage of her ability to set up each day like she wants it. Not taking second thoughts when she doesn’t have to. She’s not bad or anything, and she tries to help her friends, she’s just immature and full of the happiness of being young and uncertainty about where life can take you.
It’s hard to say something like that with out feeling like I’m setting myself up as some ageless and emotionless critic picking out the themes from behind my spectacles for the purposes of disinterested examination. What I really mean by saying that Matoko is immature is that that’s how I related to her. That the film shows her going through a development (albeit a fantastical one) which I felt I could learn from. It’s not like I’ve got my life sorted out, or anything close to that. I’m no good at understanding what I really want or knowing how to treat other people or tackling change with the right attitude. So I sympathised because I could see where she was coming from and because her growing up was something I felt for.
But then, as I’m sure all film-makers are all too aware, it’s not so easy to grab the audience that you can just throw up some universal themes and win out. The Girl… pulled me closer to its characters through wit and prettiness. And the sense of humour mattered more than the good looks. The best run of jokes came as Makoto explored her new trick, and as the laughs kept coming the characters felt closer and the film was free to go where it wanted.
I’d hate to spoil it for anyone else, so lets just say that this film takes the odd turn I didn’t foresee, and that it can hit hard as well as flashing a nice smile. I’ll say this much, this is how a romantic comedy should be. Just because a film is funny and romantic doesn’t mean it can’t be brilliant too. It doesn’t offer a clearcut love-story as panacea, and the ending is just perfect. Perfect because of what it isn’t as well as what it is. Because instead of simply throwing Makoto a solution it’s an ending which is about how she’s changed and about how we should try to live our lives.
So yes, it’s amazing.
Wow, you just reminded me why I love this film so much. Where are you going to see it BTW (if you live in the States, forget I asked)? It’s the natural, true-to-life way that the lead reacts to her situation that makes it so special – I mean, time travel is decidedly out of the sphere of realism so putting it into a very everyday situation while still being utterly convincing is no mean feat.
I thought the ending was a bit weak actually, but it’s not a major problem at all since the other 99% of the film is, as you put it, amazing. December is a fair while away for sure, but this is a gem of a movie that doesn’t come around very often.
The point where it stops being jovial and frivolous, and makes a shot directly for the heart and hits it dead on, was a masterstroke of storytelling; I remember the rest of the audience laughing in the aisles when I saw it at the cinema last time, before sitting in awestruck silence when the real drama hit them. Most of us were speechless afterwards, save some murmurs of “awesome!”
I can’t believe this was the director’s first film either. I can’t wait to see what he does next since he clearly has real talent for the job (given that there’s allegedly a shortage of naturally talented directors at the moment). The Madhouse artwork helps of course but the film is really more than the sum of its parts.
By: concretebadger on September 28, 2008
at 1:32 am
I had just seen this a few months ago as well, and was very very entertained. Also, it looks gorgeous. Is it brilliant? Yes.
Coburn, your bringing the attention to the performance makes me want to watch it again. I don’t have that kind of time!
By: ghostlightning on September 29, 2008
at 7:23 am
CB: It’s on at the ICA in London, the room’s capacity was about 20 odd people and there was much laughing. It being such a small place I got a sense of the general feeling – and it did seem that most people weren’t quite so keen at the end as I was. It left me very contented and with a sense of optimism.
That shift in tone really is where the film shows its class – just perfect. Shot to the heart is right on.
And I hadn’t realised this was a debut feature for the director. That’s pretty astonishing.
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GL: The way a great film like this can build up a reputation and travel around the world is plain cool. Hell, just thinking about this film again today is making me happy.
I have this strange image of a bunch of people leaving a cinema and at once all taking a running jump, just to try and watch it again.
By: coburn on September 29, 2008
at 12:58 pm
Your fourth paragraph just about sums up why I like the film so much. It’s capable of both lightness and heaviness, and the way it juggles the two makes it relevant to life. Some parts are sudden, and some as slow as they need to be, but I appreciate the pacing in general, as it works perfectly around Matoko’s character. If only the damn thing would show up in a theater near my backwoods college…
I wish I could comment further, but it’s been a while since I’ve seen it. Hell, maybe I’ll watch it again.
By: Pontifus on October 2, 2008
at 9:37 am
I’m happy to have been able to watch this on the big screen in our very own third-world country ;___; That chance only comes once in a blue moon.
It was a totally unforgettable amazing experience, having to watch TokiKake with all heightened senses, empathizing with Makoto, laughing with the audience in the comedic antics… and crying with them too. I’d be more than happy to watch this on-screen again… if that chance ever comes. I’ll be gladly awaiting the R1 DVD release, in the meantime
By: usagijen on October 2, 2008
at 4:51 pm
P: On second viewing it’s interesting to see those shifts in pace and tone coming in advance. And those slow paced comic life goes by bits are like reliving a fond memory. Kind of neuters the emotional impact a bit when you actually notice the pacing rather than simply get immersed in it all. But maybe that’s just the peril of re-watching so quickly.
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U: I’m also really glad I took my chance of big-screen viewing before it was too late. It’s quite rare to get that feeling of community within a cinema, and perhaps something comedies do best. Once you’ve all laughed out loud there’s a sort of release of decorum. And.. and… well a smiley is about the best way to put it.
By: coburn on October 2, 2008
at 11:32 pm
[...] be missed, especially when he posts like this, this, and this. Coburn, should you remember love for writing about anime and find claiming your old [...]
By: The Party of Awkward Hats is Diminished: I was drunk, but many interesting guests are leaving and it’s a sobering thought. « We Remember Love on February 24, 2009
at 1:07 am