When Marnie Was There (2014)

Directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi. Starring (voices) Sara Takatsuki, Kasumi Arimura, Hitomi Kuroki, Hana Sugisaki, Setsu Oiwa, Kiyomasa Olwa, Nanako Matsushima, Kazuko Yoshiyuki, Ken Yasuda. [PG]

Subtle, wistful story of the friendship that blossoms between Anna, a lonely little girl spending the summer in a small seaside town, and Marnie, a mysterious young blonde living in a seemingly-abandoned mansion on a tidal marsh island. Delicate and modest, it takes time to get going, and possesses less of the emotional sweep and wide-eyed imagination as the best movies to come from Studio Ghibli, but it still grows on you, and the animation and music are enchanting. Small, mostly tangential details of an intolerance of ethnic “impurity” and a one-sided lesbian sexual awakening are hinted at but either remain buried or get forgotten—it’s neither a boldly forthcoming movie nor an obvious, pedagogic one. (Considering what Anna eventually learns about Marnie, good thing on that latter count!) Based on British author Joan G. Robinson’s same-named novel. The English-language dub features voicework from, among others, Hailee Steinfeld, John C. Reilly, Geena Davis, and Ellen Burstyn.

70/100