Pick #923
Dir. Yoshifumi Kondô & Yoshifumi Kondou · Japan · Japanese, Spanish
Finds magic in the ordinary every day—and reminds us the most special art is that which comes from the heart
1995 Movie Animation, Drama, Family
Our take
Studio Ghibli has brought us moving, remarkable animated films such as Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, and Princess Mononoke. One of Studio Ghibli’s most overlooked movies is Yoshifumi Kondou’s Whisper of the Heart, which finds magic in the ordinary every day. Shizuku is a young girl with great aspirations to become a writer—the only thing stopping her is herself. When she comes across a curious antique shop, she befriends a mysterious boy and his grandfather, who are just the push she needs to look inward and discover her own artistic capabilities.
If you have ever wanted to create something bigger and better than yourself—a story, a song, a poem, a painting, a work of art—then Whisper of the Heart will excite you, will call to you, will remind you to answer your heart’s calling.
The story
Shizuku lives a simple life, dominated by her love for stories and writing. One day she notices that all the library books she has have been previously checked out by the same person: "Seiji Amasawa."
Streaming arrival
Who picked it
Taylor Leigh Harper is a writer from Southern California who covers film and writes across fiction, creative nonfiction, and free verse. She is a contributing writer and curator at A Good Movie to Watch, with work also appearing in Westwind, The Bridge, and Haunted Waters Press.
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