movie: When Marnie Was There

[mindstalk]

I just saw my first movie since January, and my first movie of the year in a theater. Last year's non-Miyazaki Ghibli film, "When Marnie Was There". I'm glad I saw it. I think pretty much anything else I could say would be a spoiler.

Though I can say, Anna's village guardians were amazingly unconcerned with what Anna was up to or where she was going. And this seemed to be a positive thing. Anna's 12.
I also noticed her clothes changing every day, vs. cheating with the same outfit to animate.


s
p
o
i
l
e
r
space

I was not expecting Ghibli ghost yuri.
And eventually I knew I shouldn't have been expecting Ghibli yuri, but the fake out was strong. Don't tell me it wasn't deliberate. And hey, non-Miyazaki, for all I knew they were going in a new direction.

If this hadn't been Ghibli I would have been prepared for a much darker plot or ending. Ghost yuri suicide pact or ghost aiming to get a new companion. How many ways could Marnie have died? Drowning, mushrooms, exposure, cruelty... Or been a projection of the blonde blue dressed doll young Anna carried around. I'm sure the horror hints were deliberate too.

I'd wondered about Anna's blue eyes. Plot point, not anime coloring!

The erraticness of Marnie's appearances was never explained.