From up on Poppy Hill – Kokuriko-zaka kara (2011)

Directed by: Gorô Miyazaki | 91 minutes | animation, drama | Original voice cast: Masami Nagasawa, Jun’ichi Okada, Keiko Takeshita, Yuriko Ishida, Rumi Hiiragi, Jun Fubuki, Takashi Naitô, Shunsuke Kazama, Nao Ohmori, Teruyuki Kagawa, Haruka Shiraishi, Tsubasa Kobayashi

The adolescent Umi lives with her family and resident boarders in a house on top of Poppy Hill. Every morning, Umi hoists a few banners in the garden in honor of her father, who was killed in the war between Japan and South Korea. It is 1964, the year in which Tokyo hosts the Olympic Games for the first time. But in Umi’s life there are more pressing matters. For example, there is a schoolmate she adores but who doesn’t really like her. And there’s the matter of the school’s clubhouse. It is in danger of being closed.

In the Ghibli animation ‘From up on Poppy Hill’, we follow our brave heroine in her fight for the preservation of the clubhouse. We also closely follow the crippled love story between Umi and her schoolmate. Slowly we understand why the schoolmate does not return her love. It has everything to do with a photo of Umi’s father, taken just before the war. Between saving the clubhouse and the many household chores, Umi tries to solve the mystery of the photo.

‘From up on Poppy Hill’ is the second feature film by Gorô Miyazaki, son of Oscar winner Hayao Miyazaki. The films of Miyazaki junior are always more thoughtful than those of senior and have a different theme. Where senior is mainly concerned with the environment, junior is more concerned with personal development. We see here how Umi learns to let go of things she can’t fix, and to fight for things she might be able to fix.

It doesn’t make for a very spectacular story. Much of the film just rambles on. Even more annoying is the lack of humor. Only the chairman (and sole member) of the philosophy club provides a smile now and then, but there is not much more to laugh about.

Lack of humor and plot are compensated by the light tone and the brilliant animation. The harbor city at dusk, the atmospheric scenes in the rain, the insanely beautiful clubhouse (a towering structure with all kinds of surprising nooks and crannies), they all look beautiful. Together with the cheerful tone, the animation ensures that this film can still be enjoyed. You don’t expect less from a Miyazaki either.