When Marnie was there

Directed by: Hiromasa Yonebayashi
Produced by: Yoshiaki Nishimura
Screenplay by: Masashi Ando, Keiko Niwa, Hiromasa Yonebayashi
Bsed on: When Marnie Was There by Joan G. Robinson
Cast: Sara Takatsuki, Kasumi Arimura
Music by: Takatsugu Muramatsu
Released: 19 July 2014

Plot: Anna Sasaki is a 12-year-old girl with low self-esteem living in Sapporo with foster parents, Yoriko and her husband. One day, Anna suffers an asthma attack at school. At the doctor's recommendation to send Anna to a place where the air is clean, Yoriko decides to have her spend summer break with Yoriko's relatives, Setsu and Kiyomasa Oiwa, who live in a rural seaside town located between Kushiro and Nemuro.

nna investigates an abandoned mansion across a salt marsh. She finds it familiar but gets trapped by the rising tide until she is found by Toichi, an old fisherman. Anna sees a blonde haired girl in the mansion. On the night of the Tanabata festival, she meets the girl, Marnie. The two agree to keep their meetings secret. Marnie invites Anna to a party at the mansion, where she sees Marnie dancing with a boy named Kazuhiko.

Anna meets Hisako, an older woman who paints. Hisako comments that Anna's sketches look like a girl whom she knew when she was young. A family moves into the mansion. During the move-in, Anna meets a girl named Sayaka, who gives her Marnie's diary that had been hidden in a drawer. Anna tells Marnie she found documents that show her foster parents are paid to take care of her. She makes the assumption that they only pretend to love her for the money, and says she can’t forgive her biological family for leaving her behind and dying. Marnie shares how her parents are always traveling abroad, and how she is left behind with her cruel nanny. The maids bully her and threaten to lock her in the silo near the mansion. Anna leads Marnie to the silo to confront the latter’s fear of it. Marnie conquers her fear and Kazuhiko comforts Marnie.

Sayaka finds the missing pages from Marnie's diary, which include passages about Kazuhiko and the silo. She and her brother find Anna unconscious with a high fever. They bring her back to the Oiwas, where Anna confronts Marnie. Marnie says she is sorry for leaving her and that she cannot see Anna anymore. When Anna recovers, Hisako reveals Marnie's story: Marnie married Kazuhiko and had a daughter named Emily, but he died from a sudden illness and Marnie committed herself to a sanatorium to cope with her loss. With no other family to care for her, Emily was sent to a boarding school. Marnie recovered but a preteen Emily was resentful for her mother abandoning her. In her adulthood, Emily ran away from home and had a daughter herself, but she and her husband were killed in a car accident. Marnie raised her granddaughter, who was placed in foster care after her death.

Review: When marnie was there is a uniquely layered film. There are many nuances throughout the story. All f which takes place in an environment that is remeniscent of a fish out of water. The protaganist, Anna Sasaki, is 12 and trying to deal with the loss of her parents and the care given by foster parents, Yoriko nad her husband. After an Asthma attack the foster parents are told that Anna needs fresh air to recover. So she is sent to spwend time with Yoriko's relatives, Setsu and Kiyomaso, who live in a rural seaside town called Kushiro and Nemuro.

While there, and feeling very much out of place, Anna discovers a magical world far beyond the touch of the urban sprawl that she was used too. She finds an unusual couple in her aunt and uncle. Her uncle turns out to be a scultpor or novelty objects. Such as owls with what could be described as having googly eyes. Everything for Anna is a new and novel discovery. One of the main ones is an old Victorian mansion located in a marsh.

It is there that Anna meets Marnie. A petitie blond girl with a seemingly mysterious nature about her. The two bond quickly as feeling like outsiders in the world around them. With the promise not to tell anyone of their frendship the two quickly draw close to each other. Sharing feelings and emotions difficult to express to others. But there is a vague questiosn that is slowly developed and raised as the story evolves. Is Marnie real or a ghost? Why is there such a naturally strong bond between Anna and Marnie? How do these two seem to be bonded too each other? What is clear is that each gilr gives the other what they mkost need at the time;. Or at each time they meet. For Anna she gets a feeling of seciruty in a difficult and sometimes painful world. While for Marnie she gets a sense of joy that seems to have been missing in her life.

The end of the film is both poignant and touching. This is a very emotional and strongly crafted film of youthful angst and pain in a confusing world. A film that may be difficult for some yunger viewers. But with the right parental guidence it is a film that can help some younger viewers who are seeking to comprehend life's challenges.

M J Flack