Whisper Of The Heart

Bluesky

A cat with many names who rides a train. A girl who impulsively follows him, looking for a place where stories begin. A curiosity shop - Shiro Nishi’s world emporium – which is home to the Baron, a statuette of a can dressed as a gentleman. This is pure, concentrated Studio Ghibli, and any viewer who has enjoyed any of its films will easily fall in love.

So, perhaps, will its heroine. Named Shizuku, she’s a young high school student who lives with her parents and older sister. At school, friends tease her about her studiousness. Her BFF is Yuko; they both daydream about romance, but agree that if one is in love with a boy, the worst thing in the world is for him to find out about it. What Shizuku really adores is books. When one day she discovers that the same mystery person – one Seiji Amasawa – has taken out every one of her library books before her, she becomes determined to track him down. At the same time, an unfamiliar boy starts following her on his bicycle, teasing her about a spoof song she’s written based on Take Me Home, Country Roads. It will not take Ghibli fans very long to figure this one out.

It doesn’t need to. As the cat knows, what matters is the journey. The tumult of emotions Shizuku experiences as the story develops is not at all what she expected. The owner of the shop befriends her, charmed by the raw talent he sees in her, and shows her a love story hidden in a clock. Eventually he will tell her his own. Along the way she will learn that romantic love is not the be all and end all of life, but that loving what one does is also important – and, crucially, that it takes time to become really good at any craft, and that’s okay.

Written by Hayao Miyazaki, the film is directed by his protégé Yoshifumi Kondō, who sadly died at the age of just 47, before being able to make another. It’s exquisitely animated and even features woodcuts made by the writer’s son, Keisuke Miyazaki. Though not quite as memorable as the My Neighbour Totoro theme tune, Yûji Nomi’s music is every bit as beguiling and also contributes to the magic of the whole.

First released in 1995, Whisper Of The Heart is making a welcome return to the big screen. It’s a treat for longstanding fans and a chance for a new generation to get to know Ghibli at its best.

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