When Marnie Was There: A Few Thoughts
Jun. 14th, 2015 10:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
yuuagoTo my surprise, there's a small independent cinema within walking distance from my hotel. The Vic Theatre - it's really nice. All my love goes out to little indie theatres. Anyway, this evening they were showing a Ghibli film, When Marnie Was There. I've been meaning to watch it for a while, so it's nice to get around to it.
I had been sort-of spoiled for the film, so I was prepared for it. Whether it's better to go into this movie informed of the twist or not, I can't really say, though I think that if I hadn't known about it, I would have been very disappointed. Anyway - I'll cut the rest of this entry, because it does talk about that twist.
Even with knowing the twist, I'm still a little bit disappointed. This film would have made such a cute "young f/f supernatural romance" kind of story. I understand that it isn't what Ghibli was going for, but even knowing the familial aspect as I did, a lot of the scenes read as - well, as romance, or at the very least a very intense friendship that could some day be romance. ...Hopefully some day, there will be a film made that is essentially the cute lesbian ghost story of my dreams. Some day.
I had to keep reminding myself about what the twist was; that Marnie is Anna's grandmother, and that it would become apparent/undeniable toward the end of the film. I didn't know the how, only the what, so I tried to untangle just how that story was going to play out while I watched it, which is not usually something I do. Exception: I tend to do this when watching very predictable horror movies. But, y'know. I'm not in the habit of it, on average. I think that in general, I wasn't satisfied with the way that the "real story" unfolded.
Marnie's story, as delivered by Hisako, was very much an infodump. This film was based on a novel of the same title, by Joan G Robinson, and I think that scene was one of the parts where it is more obvious that this is an adaptation. I'm not sure if that scene is in the novel, because I haven't read it (though I'm curious), but if it is, it's the kind of thing that would be easier to do in written format. This is especially so because it isn't the only story-within-a-story; the diary serves a similar format/purpose.
On the other hand, I can't think of an effective way to tell Marnie's real story in film format without infodump. It would have to either be shortened - which is possible - or told in a different way, and I can't come up with something that would be more effective than what was actually delivered. I suppose it partly depends on how it goes in the novel.
Then again, previous films have shown that when Ghibli does an adaptation, it isn't married to the novel it's adapting. Howl's Moving Castle and its significant departures from the novel of the same title comes to mind. So I guess it doesn't matter so much how the book did it; the main point is that the film could have possibly done a better job than it did, though I personally can't think of a better way to deliver the narrative.
Other than the above, I haven't many complaints. The film was visually lovely, as always. As far as characters go, I found Anna unlikable in the beginning, but that was part of the point, since she doesn't like herself at all, either. I appreciated the changes she went through over the course of it; I found that her transformation into a much kinder and happier person was very satisfying. As for Marnie - well, I think she has reached a point of satisfaction now that Anna has found happiness.
Overall, it's definitely not my favourite Ghibli film, and I don't think I would recommend it without qualifying that recommendation. But it might be worth a look for someone who is already a fan of Ghibli films, or for someone looking for a somewhat unusual film about familial love.
I had been sort-of spoiled for the film, so I was prepared for it. Whether it's better to go into this movie informed of the twist or not, I can't really say, though I think that if I hadn't known about it, I would have been very disappointed. Anyway - I'll cut the rest of this entry, because it does talk about that twist.
Even with knowing the twist, I'm still a little bit disappointed. This film would have made such a cute "young f/f supernatural romance" kind of story. I understand that it isn't what Ghibli was going for, but even knowing the familial aspect as I did, a lot of the scenes read as - well, as romance, or at the very least a very intense friendship that could some day be romance. ...Hopefully some day, there will be a film made that is essentially the cute lesbian ghost story of my dreams. Some day.
I had to keep reminding myself about what the twist was; that Marnie is Anna's grandmother, and that it would become apparent/undeniable toward the end of the film. I didn't know the how, only the what, so I tried to untangle just how that story was going to play out while I watched it, which is not usually something I do. Exception: I tend to do this when watching very predictable horror movies. But, y'know. I'm not in the habit of it, on average. I think that in general, I wasn't satisfied with the way that the "real story" unfolded.
Marnie's story, as delivered by Hisako, was very much an infodump. This film was based on a novel of the same title, by Joan G Robinson, and I think that scene was one of the parts where it is more obvious that this is an adaptation. I'm not sure if that scene is in the novel, because I haven't read it (though I'm curious), but if it is, it's the kind of thing that would be easier to do in written format. This is especially so because it isn't the only story-within-a-story; the diary serves a similar format/purpose.
On the other hand, I can't think of an effective way to tell Marnie's real story in film format without infodump. It would have to either be shortened - which is possible - or told in a different way, and I can't come up with something that would be more effective than what was actually delivered. I suppose it partly depends on how it goes in the novel.
Then again, previous films have shown that when Ghibli does an adaptation, it isn't married to the novel it's adapting. Howl's Moving Castle and its significant departures from the novel of the same title comes to mind. So I guess it doesn't matter so much how the book did it; the main point is that the film could have possibly done a better job than it did, though I personally can't think of a better way to deliver the narrative.
Other than the above, I haven't many complaints. The film was visually lovely, as always. As far as characters go, I found Anna unlikable in the beginning, but that was part of the point, since she doesn't like herself at all, either. I appreciated the changes she went through over the course of it; I found that her transformation into a much kinder and happier person was very satisfying. As for Marnie - well, I think she has reached a point of satisfaction now that Anna has found happiness.
Overall, it's definitely not my favourite Ghibli film, and I don't think I would recommend it without qualifying that recommendation. But it might be worth a look for someone who is already a fan of Ghibli films, or for someone looking for a somewhat unusual film about familial love.
Yuu. Fic writer & book lover. M/Canada.