Whisper of The Heart

Perhaps for me, what the movie is actually about is the search for one’s identity. The challenges Shizuku faces are just so realistic. Along her journey she despises herself, she has fear of falling behind other people, and is also uncertain about the talent she thinks she possesses. I don’t care what anyone says, these are real challenges. Most importantly, challenges that are really hard to capture. I find myself writing about ‘Great Movies’ day after day, never actually knowing when people are going to start noticing all that I have created. I honestly love doing this, and I know I am never going to give up on it. But there are times when things are down, and I start to question – “How long should one pursue what they really want to pursue until they should realise that it is not going to work out”. And in that sense, the movie is really inspiring. Shizuku has the help she needs (from her parents and Grandpa Nishi) but is also alone when she needs to put in the work. The way everything is beautifully and intricately portrayed, I am sure it must have been a close topic to the creators. ‘Whisper of the Heart’ was Yoshifumi Kondo’s directorial debut in 1995. Unfortunately, he died 3 years after that, and all I can do is just wonder how much we missed from a great artist like him.

I have a favourite dialogue from the movie that I would love to share. There is a moment in the film where Shizuku is a little behind in her studies when she decides to give her all to writing a novel. She challenges herself to complete it in two months. That is when she has “the talk” with her parents who are worried about her school academics. Her father allows her to do what she wants to and says, “But it’s not easy when you walk your own road. You’ve only got yourself to blame.” I think this is really profound. Often we take that safer path we have been told to take by someone, get that education degree, or follow someone so that even if we fail we can blame someone else. But when we do what we want against everyone, we’ve got just yourself to blame and that is scary.

And in this background, they bring this beautiful relationship between Shizuku and Seiji. A relationship, I think, that shows how a relationship should be- two people supporting each other. In a scene, Shizuku is working in the library and Seiji just sits in front of her without disturbing her. Finally, after some time when she notices him, he says,” don’t worry. I’ll wait till you finish your work”. That made me smile. Somehow the movie catches the perfect vibe. Perhaps by the use of the song “Country Roads”. It is a little bit too much dependent on it. But I don’t mind, cause it works. Even a simple scene where Shizuku is singing with Seiji playing the violin when his grandfather’s friends come and slowly join in the song with their own instruments turns out to be one of the most wholesome scenes I have ever seen.

I am sure the Ghibli fans are going to appreciate this one. If you just want to relax and are tired this week, this is a perfect movie to watch that will cheer you up.