Only Yesterday (1991) Review

A thoughtful and emotional film from the director of Grave of the Fireflies, Isao Takahata, it couldn’t be more different than that grim story. This story of a woman flashing back on her memories from fifth grade as she takes her summer vacation may sound boring, but it is filled with poignant moments with an incredibly emotional ending.  While aimed mainly at women, the movie managed to be a surprise hit with both genders in Japan and saved Studio Ghibli from financial ruin.

This is one of the hardest to find films by Studio Ghibli in the United States, since it has never been released here on DVD and, according to Wikipedia, never will be.  I was fortunate to catch it on Turner Classic Movies during their Hiyao Miyazaki month and as far as I know that was the only broadcast over here.

The movie starts out with a typically great Studio Ghibli score over the long opening credits which are shown over a fabric texture.  Right away, you get the feeling this will be a slow moving film. Finally the movie starts with a shot of skyscrapers in crowded Tokyo.  Quickly cutting to the interior of one of them, where we are treated to the images of hum drum office work. 

There we are introduced to Taeko, who is getting her ten day vacation approved.  The personnel director notices that she is planning on traveling and inquires if it is due to a breakup.  Slightly embarrassed, she replies no and that she likes going to the countryside.

Without warning, the movie shifts to a flashback when Taeko was ten and in the fifth grade.  It is done without any kind of fadeout and sets the pattern for the rest of the movie. The animation style is different, with washed out watercolors for the backgrounds and muted tones for the characters.

Young Taeko is shown hoping to be taken to the countryside during summer break because that is where all her friends are going.  But since they have no family outside of Tokyo, the parents say no.  Instead the women of the family decide to take her to a fancy bath house with the promise of the wonders of the Pansy Bath. It helps to have an understanding of the public bath culture in Japan, but still there is a sense that the older sisters are leading the girl on about how great things will be. Especially when they are revealed as not planning to go!

 

In the present, or the early 80’s to be precise,  Taeko is on the phone with one of her older sisters. The conversation reveals a great deal about the 27 year old, including the fact that her mother is still angry with her for refusing to meet with an arranged marriage prospect. Her sister also gets on her case for being unmarried and getting too old.  It is the sister’s in-laws that Taeko will be visiting.  The Pansy Baths come up and a comment from older sis nails Taeko for being too burdened by her memories.

The baths were a huge disappointment and the only fun she had was when she went off on her own. Then the girl overheats herself while alone.  It is the beginning of many disappointments for the fifth grader.  The scene has less than Barbie doll like nudity, but it has to be noted that this movie is not for children.

Another disappointment follows as the family eagerly gets their hands on a pineapple.  Reputed to be the “king of all fruit” they can’t wait to eat it but are clueless on how to prepare it. When the older sister returns with the method, they gather round to watch it being sliced.  At the dinner table, they each take a slice and a marvelous bit of animation occurs as we see each reaction.

Hint:  it was a green pineapple not yet ripe. Stubborn and committed, Taeko forces down her slice not wanting to admit disappointment by willing it to be good.  Her stubborness begins manifesting in this scene as are her tendencies to build up great expectations.

A montage follows, establishing the flashback year to be 1966 with the Beatles and miniskirts hitting Japan. The times are changing and the older sisters are embracing it fully while Taeko is just trying to survive the ordeals of being ten.  She is brow beaten by her mother that a girl who eats all her food is more important than one who writes a good essay.  Slices of fifth grade life follow from the mundane debates in class to the cruelty of gossiping girls.

 

Along the way, her first crush happens and the object of her affections turns out to be equally smitten in a charmingly awkward scene after a school baseball game.  This scene is beautifully drawn with setting sun for a backdrop.  The long silence of bashfulness is depicted in real time and the girl’s elation afterward is portrayed in a sweetly whimsical way as she swims through the air.

Abruptly we are back on the train to the countryside and Taeko is wondering why she is flashing back. She thinks to herself ,“I didn’t intend to bring my fifth grade self with me.” 

Another memory is of the horrors of fifth grade health instructions about puberty and reproduction. This is the sequence that apparently prevents it from being released in the US, as there is quite a bit about getting periods and the confusion learning about it causes the kids. The boys are complete jerks about it as to be expected.  I still remember the same kind of things from that age and find it silly this prevents the film’s release.

On the train, the 27 year old realizes that something is changing in her life, much like how her life was changing seventeen years before. It is clear she is not comfortable with it, but wonders if she needs to look to the past to understand herself.  There is a sense of loneliness and alienation being part of Taeko’s problems, despite her always cheerful adult persona.

 

At the train station, we and Takeo are introduced to Toshio, the second cousin of her brother-in-law.  It is an awkward meeting, he remembers her from last year and she doesn’t. Mind you, he at first comes off as something of a goof being somewhat clumsy. But finally, a character guys can relate to has entered the picture!

The car ride in the early morning has some of the most believable and convincing dialogue of the movie.  The voice acting and animation are superb, with great detail to the facial expressions and body language.  It was at this point I first felt the “suspension of disbelief” that makes a movie good. It really feels like two strangers getting to know each other and Toshio turns out to be a very interesting character. His love of Hungarian folk music becomes a reoccurring theme in the film and its soundtrack.

 

The young farmer takes Taeko out to the farm where the primarily raise safflowers.   The blossoms are used in cosmetics and used to be used to dye fabrics as the audience gets a history lesson thanks to the two characters mutual nerdiness. Eager to dive in to the work, she is fully prepared with her own gear to start picking.  There is an instant rapport with the farm family and one of the more beautiful scenes occurs when they notice the sunrise. From there we are fully educated on the processing methods used.  After that amazing amount of detail, I feel like I could raise and process safflowers.

As Taeko settles into the farm life, she bonds with the young daughter of the family and begins recounting episodes from her past. One powerful one is the day she ended up in conflict over a hand me down purse with her second oldest sister, Yaeko.  Emotions run high and her willfulness gets her in a lot of trouble with the shocking result of her cold and distant father striking her.

 

Utterly destroyed by this, it becomes clearer why Taeko is the black sheep of the family. As the adult cheerfully explains her feelings back then to the rather stunned girl and Toshio, her feelings of alienation from the rest of the family crystallize then. While dismissive of what she felt then, the others don’t seem convinced of the validity of her father’s action.

I suspect this scene is another reason we won’t see Disney import the film. It is raw and painful to watch, with little warning of how it was going to turn out.  Once again, this film is not for children.

A road trip to a nearby mountain resort with Toshio leads to some serious getting to know each other time, with another flashback to fifth grade in the middle. Oddly, Taeko is still upset by her inability to multiply fractions.  Part of it appears to be the fact that her mother and sisters belittled her intelligence due to her struggling with mathematics.  Toshio’s deep down goodness and sincere interest in her become apparent, but it isn’t clear if it is registering with the woman.

 

While returning, the growing confusion over her life is aggravated by the strange realization that she somehow considers the area to be her home.  The metamorphosis Taeko fears is happening whether or not she wants it to.  Meanwhile, the relationships she has formed with the farm family strengthen despite the short amount of time she has been there.  Between her reminisces and Toshio’s passionate ideals about farming, they are growing closer.  Still, she seems oblivious when he speaks about their strengths complementing each other and how he’d like her to help him in his organic farming.

Time is running short, as her last night at the farm has arrived. While preparing for dinner, the grandmother of the family asks to speak frankly with Taeko.  What she requests shocks the younger woman and sets up the finale.  With her set on returning to Tokyo has she finally figured out who she is? Will she finally face her fifth grade self?

If you ever do get the rare chance to see this, please sit through the credits.

Thoughts

Only Yesterday is a film about painful memories and a life filled with disappointments.  I cannot recommend it for children or even teenagers as they simply won’t get it.  In fact, I don’t think many young adults will as it is a truly adult film dealing with deep emotions that only happen through experience.

 

Taeko is a wonderfully fleshed out character, a girl who was just different enough that her family never really understood her.  Most kids go through a stage thinking that, but in her case it is the truth.  The distant and generally emotionless father is dislikeable and her mother is only marginally better. The sisters are typically self absorbed teenagers and aren’t warm toward their little sister. In essence, Taeko is very alone and has continued to be in adulthood.

Toshio is another wonderful character, with hidden depths and passion that slowly emerge. He actually gets Taeko despite being a little younger and his sense of humor is rarely lost. The scenes between them are believable and better than anything I’ve seen in an American “chick flick.”

I don’t like chick flicks so it is strange that I really love this movie. Perhaps it is due to the depth of emotion or that the characters are so three dimensional (ironic being a 2D cartoon.)

The film is incredibly beautiful with many scenes being moving watercolor paintings. The soundtrack is exceptional with the flute music for the countryside scenes particularly memorable.

Highly recommended to adults and maybe those younger who have known severe loneliness in their lives.

BEWARE! HERE BE SPOILERS!!!

 

 

 

 

With the grandmother of the clan, Auntie, asking Taeko to marry Toshio and her daughter agreeing that it is a great idea, Taeko is mortified.  The discussion of pros and cons goes on for length while she silently sits in shock. Eventually she can’t take it anymore and bolts into the growing gloom.

As lightning flashes and rain begins to come down, Taeko come face to face with an apparition from her past on a small bridge. The greatest guilt of her life appears in the form of a dirty little boy she used to sit next to in fifth grade.  Before she can compose herself, Toshio’s small car appears and he offers her shelter from the rain.  Still embarrassed, Taeko begs him not to take her back to the farm and they park.  Easily figuring out that his family has said something that upset her, Toshio only pries a little and listens to her story about the dirty boy who bullied her.

Ten year old Taeko refused to shake the poor boy’s hand when he was transferred to another school and for some reason she feels immense guilt about it.  After Toshio explains that girls don’t understand boys and what the dirty boy probably felt, Taeko realizes that Toshio has somehow unlocked her closed heart. Still, neither do or say anything in a scene that will frustrate the audience.

 

The next morning the family bids her farewell and Taeko boards the train to Tokyo. While she has promised to return the next summer, there is something very final about her leaving. As the train pulls out, the credits begin rolling to a song.

 

As she silently sits in the nearly empty train car, a butterfly flies past her.  The metamorphosis is complete and suddenly her fifth grade classmates appear from behind the seats.  Her fifth grade self cautiously approaches her and then leads a shocked looking Taeko to the train door at the next stop. 

There she is lead to a returning train and they board to return to the town near the farm. Finally breaking out of the stunned expression, Taeko rushes to a phone booth to call the farm.  A delighted Auntie goes outside to tell Toshio who runs to his car.

Impatient, Taeko and the fifth graders board a bus and they end up passing Toshio’s car going the other way. One emergency stop and the two lovers find themselves staring at each other from a distance, much like Taeko’s scene with her crush earlier. Toshio runs to her only to be tripped and barely recover before reaching her. Being proper, they bow to each other before heading to his car all the while being followed by imaginary children. As they drive off the film fades to a wistful ten year old Taeko watching her older self leave, then to black.

I found the ending to be very powerful to my surprise.  When I first watched it, I was horrified and angry that Taeko had blown her chance at happiness, not realizing the movie didn’t end at the credits. This made the emotional end even more potent and I both admire and want to punch out the director for making me feel so intensely.