Iblard Jikan

Iblard Jikan is a 30 minute anime produced by Studio Ghibli. It is but a brief visit to the fantastic world of Iblard, experienced by the viewer while traversing the tranquil landscapes of non-static oil paintings created by Naohisa Inoue. Watch for the subtle wind motion in the grass and the playful display of the light patterns on the waters.
Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Mary and Max

Directed by proudly gay australian director Adam Elliot, this unconventional claymation movie is a treat and heading straight for an Oscar! It chronicles the friendship of Mary, an excitable and curious australian girl, and Max, a middle-aged american living with Asperger syndrome. Narrated in Barry Humphries mellow tones, and spiralling through 20 years in shades of grays and browns (with the odd touch of red) we see how this long-distance friendship evolves as week by week, month by month, Max and Mary wait for each other's letters.

There is a lot to enjoy in this movie and it's a safe bet that it will tickle your funny bone and stir your emotions in equal measure. The soundrtack features two wonderful tracks by the Penguin Cafe Orchestra although it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the whole film is beautifully themed. The use of Puccini's "Humming Chorus" from "Madama Butterfly" was well placed and achieved almost the same impact, though in a different context, as when Peter Jackson used it in the defining scene of Heavenly Creatures back in 1994.

Well worth a viewing if you can find it.

9/10

Porco Rosso

Take a bit of the essence of Casablanca, hints of the Marx Brothers, the dream travels of the Little Prince and a healthy dose of Japanese wackiness and you've got Porco Rosso. Known in Japan as Crimson Pig (紅の豚, Kurenai no Buta) this was the sixth anime film by Hayao Miyazaki, released in 1992, about an unusual Italian World War I pilot, now living as a freelance bounty hunter in the Adriatic.

Inspired by the writings of Exupéry and infused with Miyazaki's love of flying, it is the story of a "pig" that refuses to join the Italian fascist movement in the '30s. There's lots to enjoy in this film though a younger audience might miss the allegories.

Here's the trailer:


Sometimes when being human has lost it's meaning, it is better to be a pig...
8/10

She and Her Cat

"She and Her Cat" is a short black and white anime film produced by Makoto Shinkai (whose latest work I wrote about recently). The story is told from the Cat's perspective.

5 centimeters per second (Byousoku 5 Centimeter)

"5 cm per second. The speed at which cherry blossom petals fall."
It looks like Makoto Shinkai has directed another little minimalist masterpiece. Bearing a distant resemblance to underground coming-of-age classics such as My Life as a Dog, 5 cm interweaves three short stories seen from the viewpoints of different characters. Each story revolves around a specific time period in the protagonist's life: his last days at primary school, graduating from high school, his early life as an adult.



Through the prism of an early sakura-blossom romance, the film primarily explores the themes of distance and loneliness, though it does so in a gentle way that is akin to recollecting your most beautiful sunrise memory rather than resorting to being dark and gloomy.



The music blends in very well with the movie, enhancing the emotional experiences conveyed, while passing almost unnoticed - as should happen in the best soundtracks. The animation is top notch and the quality of the drawings is just mesmerizing. You may often get the urge to pause the movie just to explore the richness of the tapestry.

If you can find it, it's well worth a watch - but be warned! See it in the original Japanese dialogue with English subtitles, not the cheesy English dub.

9/10

La Maison en Petits Cubes

Also known as Tsumiki no ie (Japan), this was yesterday's winner in the short animated films category although I must confess that I was equally charmed by Varmints, Skhizein and Presto.

writer/director: Kunio Katô
music: Kenji Kondo


Watch La Maison en Petits Cubes in Animation  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Peter and the Wolf

This short animated film (2006) was created by Suzie Templeton and is based on the classic children's story and set to the music of Prokovief.

In 1936 Sergei Prokofiev was commissioned by the Central Children's Theatre in Moscow to write a new musical symphony for children. The intent was to cultivate 'musical tastes in children from the first years of school'. Intrigued by the invitation, Prokofiev completed Peter and the Wolf in just four days.

Hotaru no Haka -Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

This is obligatory viewing for anyone who thinks that cartoons are only for children. Based on a real story, the movie could easily have been shot as a standard feature with real actors but the animations add an extra dimension and depth to the feelings that seep through the movie in a way that would be impossible to capture on camera. It would be like reading the lyrics to a song without listening to the music.

This is the story of the two Japanese children during the period of the Tokyo US-air raids when the allies were on the counter-offensive and it deals with the hardships they face. But there's so much more than that in the film. It is a testament to the horrors of war, to human insanity, fanaticism, cynicism, compassion, hope, spirituality. The last 20 minutes of the film deliver such an emotional punch that it is nearly impossible to hold back the tears. Once the film is finished, go back and watch the first 5 minutes of the introduction again since it is there that the story essentially concludes.

I highly recommend watching it with English subtitles and the original Japanese dialogue as the performances are simply amazing (especially Ayano Shiraishi as Setsuko). The English voiceovers are not bad but they cannot compare with the original - even if you don't speak Japanese.

The internet movie database rates this film 8.1/10 putting it in the top #200 films of all time. I gave it a 10/10.