A 27-year old woman visits her distant relatives from the countryside for a holiday vacation and on her trip, she reminisces her 10-year old self and all of her bittersweet entanglements.
Only Yesterday is a 1991 Japanese animated film written and directed by Isao Takahata from Studio Ghibli Inc. that produced numerous animated films such as
My Neighbor Totoro,
Spirited Away and
Grave of the Fireflies. It follows the story of Taeko, a 27-year old office girl from Tokyo, who is visiting the elder brother of her brother-in-law from the countryside for a vacation to assist them in harvesting safflowers.
On her arrival, she met her second brother-in-law's cousin, Toshio, who drove and pick her up from the train station. During her stay, Toshio taught her the farmer's everyday activities such as making rouge and dye out of safflowers, milking the cows and plowing the crops to name a few.
Throughout her journey, she's also having flashbacks of her childhood, specifically around her 5th grade days, wherein she experienced a lot of firsts in her life — from having her first crush, first pineapple, first period to even her first slap-in-the-face she received from her father. She's also expatiating her quite mundane routine of cleaning the school corridors, attending morning exercises, doing homeworks and more.
As the story progressed, Taeko narrates more of her bickering and bittersweet memories that shaped her of what she is in the present.
The Good
The animation of this film is a masterpiece on its own. They managed to differentiate time periods using hazed, almost washed-out background colors on her childhood memories to the crisp and vivid pastel colors for her present days. The facial expression of each characters were also carefully drawn to elaborate their feelings and emotions — one of the technique in which Studio Ghibli is good at.
The score of this film is fantastic. It makes me feel like I'm sipping a nice cup of tea on a blissful afternoon while resting on a cozy warm bath, enjoying a nice view of the mountains from afar. The story is very simple yet very powerful as it attempts to tickle one's inner thoughts about self-worth, happiness and overall satisfaction in life.
The Bad
It might be so uninspired to hear but I don't have any negatives for the film.
Should You Watch It?
In a year full of hardcore Hollywood blockbusters, it is totally refreshing to see such pleasant and well-crafted film.
Only Yesterday is a coming-of-age, slow-paced reflection of one's everyday frustrations and happiness — a reminder of our appreciation of life, not just by existing but by living it.
10/10
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