Mimi wo sumaseba (1995)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Yoshifumi Kondo

Writers:

Hayao Miyazaki (screenplay)
Aoi Hîragi (comic) ...

Release Date:

15 July 1995 (Japan)

Genre:

Animation | Drama | Music | Romance

Tagline:

Suki na hito ga dekimashita!

Plot:

A young girl finds that all the books she chooses in the library have been previously checked out by the same boy...

Plot Keywords:

Book | Writing | Library | Violin | Violin Maker

Cast

Youko Honna	...	Shizuku Tsukishima (voice)
Kazuo Takahashi	...	Seiji Amasawa (voice)
Takashi Tachibana	...	Seiya Tsukishima (voice)
Shigeru Muroi	...	Asako Tsukishima (voice)
Shigeru Tsuyuguchi	...	The Baron (voice)
Keiju Kobayashi	...	Shiro Nishi (voice)
Yorie Yamashita	...	Shiho Tsukishima (voice)
Maiko Kayama	...	Yuko Harada (voice)
Yoshimi Nakajima	...	Sugimura (voice)
Minami Takayama	...	Kosaka-sensei (voice)
Mayumi Iizuka	...	Kinuyo (voice)
Mai Chiba	...	(voice)
Satoru Takahashi	...	(voice)
Akiko Sakaguchi	...	(voice)
Hiromi Yasuda	...	(voice)

Also Known As:

If You Listen Closely (informal literal English title)
Whisper of the Heart (International: English title)

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:G | Canada:G (Nova Scotia) | Australia:PG | South Korea:All | Chile:TE | Finland:K-3 | France:U | Germany:o.Al. | UK:U

Company:

Tokuma Shoten

Trivia:

During the closing credits, Shizuku and Seiji can be seen at the top of the screen, riding over the bridge on Seiji's bicycle. Later in the credits, Yuko meets Sugimura on the bridge and they walk off together. On the American (Disney) version of the DVD, these closing scenes are fully visible in the English-language version of the film. However, in the Japanese-language version on the same DVD, the top of the screen is cropped during the closing credits, cutting off the heads of the people passing over the bridge.

Goofs:

Continuity: It is not clear whether this is a mistake or a hint that the Baron is alive, but in every scene that the Baron is shown, he looks different than the time before (position of hands, cane and hat).

Quotes:

Shizuku: [speaking to The Baron] Strange, its as if I have known you for a long time.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in In Search of a Midnight Kiss (2007)

Soundtrack:

Take Me Home, Country Roads

They don't get more beautiful

When I first heard of Whisper of the Heart, I didn't feel a significant need to find it and watch it. How good could a teen romance be, a genre that's been beaten to death? Little did I know how much I'd love this film.

I beg of you, don't turn this film away because of the premise, which might strike some as sounding sappy. When Studio Ghibli is involved, you can't go wrong. It's NOTHING like you'd expect from any teen romance from anywhere. Whisper of the Heart has none of that fake, self-indulgent crap that permeates Hollywood, movies about teens that pander to clichés and don't give a damn about real characters or love or true feelings. Whisper of the Heart doesn't fall back on cliché and formula. It's a truly great film. It's a remarkably honest and heartfelt look into a 14-year-old's life, her family and friends, how she falls in love, and there are moments so stirring, so wonderful and yet so simple. Yoshifumi Kondou, the director, showed all the qualities of being a master of animation. It's a real tragedy that he passed away. The film is full of moments that are real and beautiful that use animation, not to exploit the story, but to enhance moments with the simplicity they need in their presentation. And the screenplay, written by the great Hayao Miyazaki, is free from false sentimentality and melodrama. He gives us real characters here, ones so well written that anyone who has been a young teen can relate to them.

Whisper of the Heart is as good an animated film as you'll find. It's a one of a kind anime and it's beautifully done. Are you tired of Hollywood films peddled to you off a studio assembly line? Tired of clichéd romances that have no emotion or humanity?

You want something with real depth, soul, and heart? Seek out Whisper of the Heart. It's beautiful, and refreshingly done. You might just love this film as much as I did.