Life Lessons from "Whisper of the Heart"
Written by Andrea Garcia
Ever since I watched Princess Mononoke when I was a child, Studio Ghibli films have been my perfect escape from reality; a gateway into a whimsical world full of color and eccentric characters. These animated films range from high fantasy tales to simplistic accounts of the mundanity of life but are all equally measured in their capabilities to excite, intrigue and most importantly comfort. I’m sure everyone right now needs comfort in such harsh and difficult times. Everyone should need a chance to just relax and relish in the wonders of different worlds and the vibrancy of life through a screen; things that are just impossible to render into reality. There are the popular films such as My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away that perfectly capture the vivid imagination of a child as well as Howl’s Moving Castle, another beloved Ghibli classic. But there was one particular film amidst the Ghibli collection I've watched in quarantine that has changed my outlook on life forever.
Meet ‘Whisper of the Heart’, a 1995 film and a severely under appreciated one that exhibits an all encompassing tale about growing up. The film follows a teenage girl who is an aspiring writer and we follow her adventures around Japan searching and befriending a young boy and his grandfather in an antique shop. She becomes incredibly fascinated by their lives and a cat statuette, often engrossed in the stories she reads and dreams out. The animation is simply beautiful; capturing the busy city of Tokyo whilst never neglecting the sheer charm of the Japanese countryside. Even empty pavements and alleyways seem so full of life with simple moments like following a cat, being depicted as something so special and magical. The film is almost devoid of fantasy elements and magic but the presence of such moments leads us to be compelled in this illusion of grandeur and perpetual wonder; something no other animated films outside of Ghibli can muster for their audience.
When you look at the film in a deeper lens we get a sense of its underlying themes of the struggles of youthood; particularly the inability to express oneself amidst a world that’s heavily dominated by labour and out of reach opportunities. Shizuku, the main protagonist, is trapped in her feelings of worthlessness and feelings of incompetence to excel in life despite her amazing talents in writing and passion for literature. Talents and gifts she is unable to see. She ultimately becomes jealous of the boy she befriends, Seiji, who has his whole life planned ahead of him having jump started his violin making passion as a young child. Sound familiar?
Our generation is gifted with new technologies, advancements and inventions that would have made life so much more difficult back then. But with it comes a mess of endless possibilities, important life decisions, the possibility of failure and an intricate web of competitors. What do you do with this information? Most people would give up, much like what Shizuku has done, and just wade through life without a sense of purpose and contentment. Everything is dull, the pavements are just ‘empty’ and the cat strolls along whilst you stay fixated in your own tiny bubble. All the magic and wonder is gone. But along the way something happens. Shizuku finally learns to pick herself up and write the novel she’s been wanting to write despite the objections from those around her. She views her failing grades and passion for writing not as a product of rebellion but in pursuit of a dream. She overcomes her self-doubts and finds strengths in her gifts. Although this is heavily idealistic and romanticised, just remember that every little step leads to something worthwhile and adds more life into the picture. You just have to find your inner gem and embrace it as you journey along the road to self-discovery and change.