When Marnie Was There

Over the weekend I had a tough choice to make, I'd received a voucher for 50% off at Odeon and I had to decide what film I wanted to watch. I've started to favour a small Odeon in Covent Garden, it never seems too busy even with big blockbusters but because it's smaller it means fewer screens and less choice. My options were The Nice Guys, X-Men: Apocalypse and When Marnie Was There. All I knew about The Nice Guys is that it's a crime comedy starring Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe but I wasn't prepared to waste a voucher on a film that could be stupid funny rather than genuine funny. The obvious option with me would be X-Men: Apocalypse, I ingest a lot of comic book adaptations and this would just be adding to the list but something put me off. Probably the fact I knew it would be absolute rubbish. When Marnie Was There was the winner.

When Marnie Was There is a animated Studio Ghibli film that was originally released in 2014. I've never been inclined to watch the work of Ghibli, not because I'm not a fan but because I've never been that interested in animated features. Whenever I did watch them it was usually in passing, I never actively sought them out. Other than Finding Nemo. And Toy Story. Tears. After watching When Marnie Was There I had to message an array of people to recommend the film and they in turn recommended other Ghibli flicks to me so if I don't post for a while it's because I'm hoarding Ghibli works and locking myself away with them. I've been late to the game before (a lot) but I've never regretted it this much, I wish I had gotten into it earlier because the film was superb.

The film follows a young girl, Anna, who lives an isolated and self hating existence with her adoptive parents. She suffers a severe asthma (or panic) attack and her guardians decide to send her to live with relatives in the countryside for a while in the hopes that the clean air would make her better. While there she comes across and mansion which she begins to obsess over and feel some familiarity towards. Upon the discovery she frequently visits the home and eventually meets it's young resident, the titular Marnie, who has much in common with Anna. Anna spent almost half the film alone and removed from society before Marnie came along so the two developing a firm friendship and working through their respective demons was heart warming. Through their relationship Anna manages to learn how to open up more, begins accepting herself and others who have made attempts to bond with her. It seems like a simple premise but there are twists and turns, some of them admittedly feel quite contrived but it is a sweet and emotional story of self discovery and compelling to watch.

Ghibli films are known for their enchanting look, the imagery in them is far superior than what we usually get in western media and this is no exception. In When Marnie Was There the craftsmanship is astonishing, the viewer can truly see the detail put into the piece. The animation aids the overall story as the film can be seen as a study in Anna's psyche, a young girl who is removed from society and questioning her life. Is Marnie a genuine friend or the product of her imagination? Is she both? Through the use of animation the film makers are able to blend real life and fantasy with ease, making the viewers as well as Anna question the reality that is put forth.

If this truly is the last Ghibli film we get to see then we are really an unlucky civilisation. I would say that even if the story line was atrocious, which it is not, then it would be saved by the visuals. The film was as close to perfect that I've seen in a long time and even the dubbing wasn't off putting for me, I usually find dubbed films unintentionally funny. As it stands I don't have any more Ghibli offerings to look forward to so I'll have to go back through their 30 years of work. Next up is The Tale of the Princess Kaguya. I'll see you in a few months.

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