From Up On Poppy Hill

“Destroy the old and you destroy our memory of the past. There is no future for people who worship the future and forget the past.” – Shun Kazama, From Up on Poppy Hill
 

It’s 1963, Umi Matsuzaki is a high school girl living in a boarding house with several other women, including her little sister and grandmother, whilst her mother works in America. One day in the school paper a poem with an anonymous author seems to have been written for Umi, relating to the signal flags she raises every morning. On the same day she meets Shun Kazama, a member of the school newspaper club and one of the many boys campaigning against the school board to tear down the historical clubhouse building, Quartier Latin. Umi and Shun team up, alongside Shiro Mizunuma and other students to change the chairman’s mind and save the building.

From Up on Poppy Hill is very different from the rest of Studio Ghibli’s films; it’s been compared to Whisper of the Heart as both films are set in the ‘real world’ and the characters are normal human beings in the purest sense. But whereas Whisper of the Heart had the main character’s mind full of imagination used as a device to bring in Ghibli’s well-known fantasy elements in, From Up on Poppy Hill has none of that. There are no mystical creatures or magical journeys to speak of, the film could be considered a distant relative to Grave of the Fireflies due to its historical basis, but, rest assured, From Up on Poppy Hill is not as emotionally hard-hitting as that film.

Without Studio Ghibli’s usual visual attractions, From Up on Poppy Hill is a much subtler and gentle film; the story is centred on the two teenagers coming of age during a time when the Olympics were dawning on the country, getting ready for removing ‘the old’ into ‘the new’ age of prosperity. The film’s theme is all about the past and future coinciding, making way for what’s to come, whilst respecting what came before, the age-old message passed on from generation to generation. But because of the gentler nature of the script and the narrative being carried by Umi and Shun, that message can be lost upon first viewing. Their romance and the twist about a third into the film take a lot of the emotional pull of the story, so it’s easy to mistake the melodrama and the resulting conclusion as the main pull of the film. I even made that conclusion myself when I first watched it at the BFI nearly 2 years ago, and as a result I felt the ending was rather deflated, but the film isn’t just about them. Of course they play a large part, but just like the house they work hard to restore, there’s many a tale that has come before them. Their plight is the result of the film’s back story which plays completely into the overall theme. The quote at the top reflects the message perfectly; keep that line in mind whilst watching it all develop and you’ll realise that all the sub-plots, the lead characters and the clubhouse all intertwine into a much more layered and deeper film that is unravelled and appreciated upon multiple viewings. The film can be just enjoyed for their story, which is rather sweetly told, but the legs it stands on are strengthened when the themes of the film come into play.

The score is provided by Satoshi Takebe; the music is a true highlight from the first note played. The music ranges from gentle piano pieces during its sombre moments to bouncy and joyful when the clubhouse residents become involved. It’s heavily jazz-inspired, fitting for the era, with a lot of insert songs scattered across the film. Most of vocal pieces are original to the film and performed beautifully by Aoi Teshima, with a track by Kyu Sakamoto performing the 1961 song ‘Ue o Muite Aruko’ (which apparently become a huge hit in America in 1963).

Unlike Studio Ghibli’s other dubs, this one wasn’t handled by Disney but instead by GKids, which led to some changes that haven’t been seen in previous Ghibli dubs. First thing you’ll notice is that a lot of the original Japanese songs have been kept in the dubbed film, with no ‘official’ dubbed version of the main/ending theme like in the previous films Arriety and Ponyo. However, two of the songs that are sung by the characters have been translated and are sung (very well, I might add) in English; it’s a pleasant surprise and doesn’t jar against the non-translated tracks. A point to make note of however is that there are a few scenes that were originally in silence in the Japanese dub that now have an English voice over it. Most of the lines are merely the characters reading out Japanese text, to help with areas heavy in subtitles, but one major change is right at the start when Umi gives quick background info on her family and hints at the film’s themes. If you’re watching the film for the first time in English, the added monologue won’t affect your viewing enjoyment but if you’ve watched the film several times in Japanese before checking out the dub (as I did) then the monologue will feel more like a banging on the head from the dub director to hammer in information rather than let the script do that for you. There’s also a minor slip of ‘cool’ and ‘awesome’ said by the side characters in the script which I’m sure weren’t commonly said in the 60s, but they’re forgivable slips. Performance-wise, the English cast do a brilliant job of capturing the high energy of the Japanese cast, especially during the scenes taking place in the club house. Sarah Bolger (The Tudors, Once Upon a Time) gives a great performance as Umi, which is impressive as she’s only done voice acting once before; other highlights include Charlie Saxton as Shiro, and Anton Yelchin as Shun.

DVD extras include a press conference announcing the theme song ‘Summer of Farewells’ as well as its music video, Japanese trailers and TV spots, a making of featurette with the English dub cast, interview with director Goro Miyazaki, staff speech from Hayao Miyazaki, Yokohama featurette and Studio Ghibli trailers.

Whatever sins Goro Miyazaki may have committed with Tales From Earthsea, they have been redeemed here. From Up on Poppy Hill is a wonderful film that blooms in front of you with every viewing; it’s a subtly beautiful movie with great characters, delightful score, and an age-old message that all generations can appreciate. Add it to your Studio Ghilbi collection now if you haven’t already.