Restful Movie - Kokuriko-zaka

 

I would like to introduce Kokuriko-zaka Kara (English title: From Up On Poppy Hill), which is a Japanese animation movie by Studio Ghibli. This movie was released in 2011 and the director was Goro Miyazaki who is the son of Hayao Miyazaki, the famous animator and film director. This movie won prizes in the 35th Japan Academy Awards and 29th Golden Gross Awards.

This movie is set in Yokohama in 1963.

People were looking forward to the Olympics in Japan in 1964. They believed that new is worthwhile and old is unnecessary. Therefore they started to plan breaking down old buildings.

Umi Matsuzaki and Shun Kazama who are the main characters attend Konan Gakuen.

There is an old building called Karucheratan (Eng: Latin Quarter) at this school. The students of Konan Gakuen take part in activities to save Karucheratan. Umi and Shun are attracted to each other. However Shun knows one secret of their relationship. 

This movie is based in Romance comics but I think it’s not a Romance movie. I can say this movie is a Human drama. Romance movies depict painful feelings and romantic scenes, but  this movie depicts the features of Showa and people who lived in Showa, and their life. The story of this movie is really simple but I want to watch this movie again and again because this movie has a lot of scenes that portray old Japanese streets and shopping streets, mindful lives, delicious looking Japanese-style food. I can enjoy the Showa era by watching this movie. I feel like I have come back to a cozy house so I think this movie will be a precious place where I can rest. 

~My Favorite Lines in This Movie~

"Want to demolish something? Demolish your own heads. Destroy the old and you destroy our memory of the past. Don't you care about the people who lived and died before us? There's no future for people who worship the future and forget the past."