Only Yesterday (1991) Review

Lucas Versantvoort / 8 September 2014

Life affirming – that’s what this film is. People often talk at great lengths about how certain films give them a warm, fuzzy feeling. Harder to find are the films that are described as life-affirming. Yet this is precisely what I’d call Only Yesterday. It presents characters and drama so naturally and compelling that it not only leaves you with an utterly optimistic feeling, but the feeling that it actually made you appreciate life more, in all its charms and complexities.

            The film focuses on Taeko, a 27 year-old woman working in an office in Tokyo. She is unsure however if the hustle and bustle of city life is what she truly wants. She plans a trip to visit some family members on the countryside where she comes to the realization that the country life is the life she wants to lead. These scenes with Taeko getting adjusted to life on the countryside are mixed with flashbacks to her childhood which show the many experiences that shaped her personality.

            What’s truly astonishing and daring is how ‘normal’ the story is. Of course, there is quite a lot of drama here (particularly in the flashbacks showing how Taeko was treated by her parents and sisters), but overall the film is pretty problem-free. There are no magical demons threatening the world, no evil monarchs bent on world domination, just a twenty-something woman unsure about her future. It’s almost like *gasps* real life! Also interesting is that the film is based on the eponymous slice-of-life manga. What’s interesting is that this manga only deals with the young girl’s life. There is no adult Taeko reminiscing about her childhood and wondering about her future, etc. which means that Takahata added this on his own. Unsurprisingly, it’s the most important element of the film. Were it only a day in the life of a young girl, it would probably be cute and heartwarming, but Takahata adding adult Taeko is what ensures this film’s groundbreaking status. This combined with the success at the box office proved that animation didn’t need to be limited to the action and fantasy genres. Animated films could deal with mature topics that were previously relegated to live-action films. Though western companies like Pixar have dealt with mature topics (the opening of Up springs to mind), they don’t come close to the daring shown by Takahata in Only Yesterday.

            There is so much to say about the wonderful animation as well. It’s one of the few animated films that actually show facial muscle lines. When’s the last time you saw facial muscles on an animated character’s face? It is attention to detail like this that only raises the feeling that we’re watching real people.

            The animation styles and colors used here are also wonderful and not just on the level of eye candy, but also on the level of narrative. The few scenes showing the city of Tokyo feature loud, harsh colors, signifying Taeko’s doubts about living there. The scenes on the countryside feature warm colors and the scenes from childhood feature white backgrounds and fade to white on the edges of the screen to signify their function as hazy memories, where you remember some things more than others. Director Isao Takahata is a master of utilizing visual styles (realism, impressionism, surrealism etc.) to full effect. He doesn’t just use these styles for their own sake, but makes them a symbolic part of the story and characters.

            The film is filled with a fantastic attention detail. There is a scene where young Taeko briefly acts in a school play. The way this scene is written, feels unbelievably real. 27 year-old Taeko reminisces that she only had one line, so she felt unhappy as she really liked acting, so she added her own line and small gestures to really breathe life into village child #1. If you want to talk aww-worthy scenes…

            The Optimum dvd I purchased features a wonderful look behind the scenes as well. Particularly interesting is the fact that Taeko and Toshio’s voice actors performed their lines facing each other. This creates a real dynamic relationship between the actors which ensures that Taeko and Toshio sound like they’re really having a conversation.

I’ll stop here, but it all comes down to the fact that this film is well worth your time and then some. It doesn’t merely satisfy on a drama and comedy level, but transcends it, becoming a celebration of life itself. (This is something Takahata would expand upon in My Neighbors the Yamadas.) If there are films that can cure the blues, this has to be one of them. Easily one of my favourite films of all time.