I wish I was better versed in anime.

I  can’t tell you how Goro Miyazaki’s FROM UP ON POPPY HILL stacks up to the work of his father. Nor can I really compare the film to any other title in the anime genre. You see I am sadly ignorant in the ways of anime, having only ever seen one film in the genre (STEAMBOY – also at TIFF), and not really getting very much from that one experience.

What I can tell you is that I found FROM UP ON POPPY HILL rather charming. It’s a sweet story about a teenaged girl named Umi and how she goes about her daily routine in the absence of both parents (mom is away on business, dad passed away in the Korean war). She has a plucky way about her, and a spirit that you can’t help but get caught up in.

AT school Umi soon meets a young man named Shun. Shun is noble, but unpredictable, and is a proud leader at The Clubhouse – a mansion where all manner of schoolboys gather to take part in various academic clubs…and often get themselves into dorm-living-esque levels of mischief.

The film poses an interesting question of how one balances the past with the future. The whole story is set in early 1960’s Japan – during an era where the country was in the final throes of rebuilding from WWII and looking ahead to hosting the 1964 Summer Olympics. Using a rather amusing visual metaphor, it asks us just how much of the past we are supposed to tear down in the name of progress…and gently suggests that with a little bit of paint and polish, we can make our present a blend of the past and the future.

I didn’t find FROM UP ON POPPY HILL tremendously affecting, but I did find it intelligent and even cheeky. One plot thread revolves around Umi and Shun discovering things within their past that they didn’t know before. Upon the revelation of a pretty big secret, Shun beats the audience to the punch and declares the situation to be “Like some cheap melodrama”. Clever!

Without proper context, all I can offer is that I was amused and enlightened. For a genre I’ve always been curious about, but never dived into it might make for a good starting point…something to give me a craving for bigger and better things.

FROM UP ON POPPY HILL plays TIFF twice more: Friday September 9th – 2:30pm @ AMC and Saturday September 17th – 3:15pm @ Scotiabank.

13 Replies to “TIFF Review: FROM UP ON POPPY HILL”

  1. Looking forward to this. Goro Miyazaki definitely struggles in the shadow of his father, but I think part of that is that he slides into a very similar subgenre of anime fantasy. Not to mention he is also a big fan of the old school hand approach with limited cgi, as opposed to more recent anime directors who are bigger into the cgi anime look.

    Maybe I should form a council with Alex (FilmForager) and a couple other anime fans and design a “McNeil Intro Guide to Anime” 😛

      1. I’m game – once this TIFF insanity has all ended, I have you two and Alex curate a viewing list for me, and I’ll turn it into some sort of watching/posting series.

        1. Yeah jeez I’m actually surprised you haven’t seen any Hayao Miyazaki films, Ryan! He’s the one dude non-anime fans seem to accept. I’m looking forward to FROM UP ON POPPY HILL and I’m glad Little Miyazaki is getting better feedback than his last film. It must be tough to have everyone identifying his work with his father.

          I definitely want to make an anime starter guide for you! Let’s do it Univarn and Allison!

  2. Steamboy never lived up to its potential in my eyes.

    Glad you enjoyed the film. I had it down as a 2nd choice, so I am keen on seeing it when it hits theatres.

    I agree with Univarn, we will have to give you a crash course in the joys, and sometimes madness, of Anime.

    1. I can’t even remember STEAMBOY all that well – there was a moment or two within it that is etched into my brain, but by and large it has faded. If you wanna lump your suggestions in with Univarn and Allison, I’ll be sure to get on the homework assignment.

  3. Didn’t know he had another movie on the way. Never saw Tales from Earthsea, heard it was a disappointment. You gotta check out his dad’s stuff though. Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke are where it’s at. And not sure if I ever mentioned it, but your new site just rocks, man. Not that you needed an upgrade, but it’s a major one nonetheless.

    1. As I say, I will dig into elder Miyazaki’s work when this whole festival insanity ends.

      And welcome to The New Matinee hermano! Glad you like what I’ve done with the place, now don’t be a stranger y’hear?

  4. Well everyone has voiced their advice and willingness to help but I for one will go the extra mile for ya Hatter! Perhaps I fly to your town, resurrect my Miyazaki Madness tournament from earlier this year and the two of us make a weekend of bringing you up to speed on all things Ghibli…except for Tales From Earthsea. Would be time well spent my good friend…I even carry 4 or 5 films on my phone for Miyazaki time anytime:P

  5. Great write-up Hatter. Gives a real feel cgi’d the film without going on a giving away too much. Just back-tracing through your coverage now and this is a perfect start.

    One thing though, and I know it makes me come off like a pedantic academic *insert expletive* but Anime really isn’t a genre but a form. A genre really needs to have semantic and/or syntactic thematic consistencies. Anime is a form; a more specific definition of a type of animation. Different Anime aren’t necessarily (though might be coincidentally) the same genre.

    Can’t wait to read on and see what else you dig up.

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