Customer Reviews

Only Yesterday (Omohide poro poro)

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"Omohide poro poro" (which translates as "memories of falling teardrops" in english) or "only yesterday" as the west knows it, is a heartwarming coming of age film from studio ghibli, directed by Isao takahata who's best known for his heartbreaking anti-war film "Grave of the fireflies" which most critics hail as a masterpiece and his best work yet. I too shared the same opinion till i saw "only yesterday". It is one of the most realistic and deeply moving film i've ever seen.

"Only yesterday" tells the story of a 27 year old girl Taeko, who takes a 10 days vacation to safflower fields in Japan countryside. On her journey, she recalls the memories of her childhood when she lived with her parents and two elder sisters in a city. Film runs back and forth in time showing taeko's rather painful past as a child and the woman she is today. The most heartwarming and winning moment in the film is the end where Taeko rediscovers herself and reaches a stage where she has to make a choice in life. This sequence is seen as the end credits roll past screen and is undoubtedly one of the finest scenes not just in an animated film but in any film, for that matter.

Isao takahata's movies have always portrayed the harsh realities of life, be it "grave of the fireflies", "my neighbors the yamadas", "pom poko" or "only yesterday". With "only yesterday", Takahata succeeds in taking the audience where no other animator has gone before. "Only yesterday" is a slow paced film which runs in real time, doing justice to the plot and storyline. There are long conversations and quite a few slow moments in the film but they add to the beauty and realism of the subject without dragging the movie. There are moments where film talks about menstruation and few other mature themes (let's see how it is handled in english dub!!) from a child's point of view without being crude or vulgar. Anyone who thinks animation was always meant for kids will be blown away by "only yesterday". It is hard to describe in words the richness and emotional depth this movie has.

The animation of the film is detailed and looks absolutely realistic and flawless. It is impossible to erase from mind all those breathtakingly beautiful images of safflower fields wrapped in a blanket of morning mist, shown in the movie. The faded watercolor wash look in all the flashback shots is breathtaking and will haunt you long after the film is over.

The beauty of studio ghibli films lie in their simplicity. They talk about life without being sugary sweet or made up. Ghibli directors, be it the legend, Hayao miyazaki, the genious Isao takahata or anyone else, they've always believed in themselves and their own projects. They have never followed "once upon a time fairy tale" kind of a set pattern or formula for their animated films and that's what make these guys and their movies versatile and worthwhile, not just for kids but for grown ups as well.

Grab "Only yesterday" when its available on dvd, not just to complete your studio ghibli collection but to add a great movie in your collection too.

TCM aired Only Yesterday and I watched reluctantly. I work in the comic book industry and art is my life so I love most things drawn or animated but love stories have never been my thing until seeing this movie. It was older 1994 studio Ghibi, I think, but so beautiful. A slice of life. from the wonderful full backgrounds to the regular ol, un-beautified characters, pure artistry. I hope Disney releases this for us. Just because it isn't magical or action packed it doesn't mean that the American public can't appreciate it.

I caught this movie by chance one night while it was being played on, I think, the Turner Movie Network. I don't need to say anything about the plot, as there are many reviews that discuss that. All I have to say is that this movie was so unbelievably real... the animation of their facial expressions and the scenery, the story itself, everything lent itself to an amazing depth without being over the top. I only saw the movie once and I have not been able to forget it. It's a shock to me that this movie is not more readily available - it is incredible.

I just watched this and found it quite moving. It's in a DVD collection with virtually no English on the box or even in the onscreen guides, but it does have English subtitles (albeit by a non-native speaker).

I once heard that the English poets Coleridge and Wordsworth agreed to divide the poetic world between them--that Coleridge would take the fantastical and make it seem ordinary, while Wordsworth would take the ordinary and make it seem fantastical. Or at least glow. In a good way, not in a Chernobyl way. Anyway, this movie would make Wordsworth proud. It takes the most ordinary of subject matter--an office worker's holiday in the country as she reminisces about her childhood--and slowly guides you into the depths of her life as well as that of the Japanese people at their best (when they aren't busy financing the despoiling of tropical rainforests, killing whales etc.): reverence for nature and for a life lived close to nature. If you've seen Kurosawa's Dreams, this resonates with the last Dream--Village of the Waterwheels. It also resonates with the wonderful Zhang Ziyi film "The Road Home."

I'd be surprised if "Omohide" gets formally released in America, though, and it's not to our credit that this is so.

For one thing, it moves s-l-o-w-l-y. It's like the inverse square of "Run Lola Run" or an MTV video. I like fast-paced films, but this answers to another part of my head, the part where I can watch my tropical fish tank for an hour and sink into the slow rhythms of life in that little universe.

For another, it's very Japanese in character, and while anyone could appreciate most of what's in it, you'll get more if you know something about Japanese culture, especially the sense of collectivity that stems from its roots in rice farming, where it truly takes a whole village to make rice agriculture work.

And for another, even though it's as gentle and sensitive as I could imagine a movie being, the long section about menstruation as seen through the eyes of 10 year old kids could make American bluenoses want to "protect" their children from seeing it. It's ironic because Japanese regard themselves as vastly more prim & proper than us (especially Japanese who only know America through our movies).

Lastly, there's a short scene in a Japanese bathhouse where everyone, children included, is naked. There is absolutely no sexual content in this scene and the characters are not drawn with the sort of detail that could give rise to any sort of reasonable objection. Yet for some Americans this would be enough to get out the pitchforks and torches.

Studio Ghibli won't allow its films to be edited for overseas sales, so I'm sure they won't let Disney cut these scenes. And Studio Ghibli's right. The only thing objectionable about this film from a kid's perspective is that most will find it too slow-moving and they won't get a lot of what's going on in the film, which is full of nuance and closely observed details of day to day life. And it's not as fully animated as American kids have come to expect, even though it's stunningly beautiful to watch. But the glass is 1/10 empty, and I've known people who only look at the missing tenth.

So I urge readers to track down this film on their own. Don't wait for Disney--I just don't believe they'll release it (Though I really hope I'm wrong). I heard that the collection I saw is a Hong Kong ripoff. Normally I'm against such things, but this may be the only way you can see this wonder film here in the States.

Only Yesterday is the story of Taeko, a woman in her 20s on a vacation to the countryside who finds herself flashing back to her 10-year old self who always yearned to go on vacations to the countryside. Even as she's travelling to the country or staying with her brother-in-law's family and working on the farm, she finds herself trying to figure out her place in life and what she really wants from the world.

On a technical level alone, it's a gorgeous movie. It's worth the price of admission to see the gorgeous animation from Studio Ghibli, full of watercolor washes and traditional animation mixed together. Even on my less-than-great television set, the colors just amazed me, with everything from sunsets to the depiction of people picking safflower in the fields; it all seemed amazingly rich and real, as if I was watching a documentary rather than an animated movie. There's a great deal of care put into the characters as well; the 10-year old and 27-year old Taeko are each their own distinct character even as you can see how one grew up into the other. There's also an amazingly wonderful sense of body language going on; a scene towards the end of the movie with Taeko and a local farmer in a car looks so realistic that it's hard to remember that these are real people, they react so perfectly.

More important to me, though, was the story of Only Yesterday. I was a little hesitant at first; the "flashing back to childhood" technique has been so overused that I was bracing myself for something that was quite possibly trite or tired. Instead I got a deeply thoughtful story about trying to recognize what's in front of you and what one really wants in life. The last few years for me have been trying to really understand what I want: in a home, in a neighborhood, in my close friends, in a partner, in my free time, in life itself. It's hard sometimes I completely miss the obvious; those horribly, 20/20 hindsight moments where you realize something really good was in reach and you just let it go by. I've really been trying to puzzle through what's best for me, and that's the same journey that Taeko goes through in Only Yesterday. It's quite believable, and her actions make perfect sense from start to finish. Taeko's struggles are, I think, something that just about anyone can empathize with.

One website I looked at described Only Yesterday as a "quiet" movie and I can see where that comes from. People expecting the larger-than-life aspects of something like Spirited Away or Howl's Moving Castle would certainly be a bit disappointed with Only Yesterday. That said, I think it was fantastic, easily one of my favorite Studio Ghibli movies to date. Whenever a DVD in Region 1 is released, I'm definitely buying it; Only Yesterday is a movie that I'll definitely watch again.

There is not much to add to Mr. Jafar's excellent review other than to say that this movie deserves to have a wider audience. "Only Yesterday" is a wonderful film with a powerful and moving story. The animation is beautiful, especially the scenes in the country side. But even if you are not an admirer of animated films, you can be swept away by the magic of this movie. I became so caught up in the story, that I found myself forgetting that the movie was even animated or subtitled.
Give this movie a chance, even if you are less than enthusiastic about the genre. You will come away amazed, moved, and entertained.

This is a beautiful movie about a young woman who rediscovers a lost part of herself when she decides to vacation in the country. Watch it if you like quiet, subtle films and like taking the time to really get to know the characters. It's a peaceful movie and has a lot to say about the sacredness of nature and the wisdom of the heart. I hope you like it!

I was so happy that Turner Classic Movies decided to show this film. It's one of the very few Studio Ghibli films not available in the US currently. I had heard it was not part of the Disney deal, and would probably not get a US DVD release. So, I made sure to get a friend to Tivo the movie for me and record it to DVD.

Anyway, I really had no idea what kind of movie to expect, other than the realistic tone that Takahata usually employs in his films. Even in "Pom Poko", there were some pretty serious themes. So, watching "Only Yesterday" with a blank slate was just wonderful! I agree that it stays in your mind long afterwards. I found the story to be very relatable, even though it was about a Japanese woman and her childhood memories. Some themes are common around the world, I suppose. It was just such a thoughtful movie. Every character is believable and the relationships between them are very real. I think I enjoyed the flashbacks the most, as they just gave you this sense of being a child and being there on her level.

The animation was brilliant, as most Studio Ghibli films are. The thing that strikes me though, is that everything in this film is real. There are no fantasy elements, or strange characters. It really could have been a live action film, but it just came off so wonderfully in animation. It just goes to show that not everything has to be a fairy tale, or aimed squarely at kids if it's animated. I sure wish America and Hollywood would understand that and create more films like "Only Yesterday" or "Triplets of Belleville".

I sure hope Disney changes its mind and decides to acquire "Only Yesterday" in its DVD distribution deal, as I'd love a cleaned up copy to add to my collection.

I just bought the newly released Australian DVD of this movie. I watched it this afternoon - Sunday, the 29th of October, 2006. It brought tears to my eyes and I was very moved and my heart was warmed by this very beautiful, elegant and gentle film.

The film is about a young woman, Taeko, and her journey on a holiday she takes from her busy job in Tokyo. She takes a train journey to a country town and meditates on her past. We learn about her childhood, school and family life. We meet her mother, older sisters, grandmother and her taciturn father. We learn about Taeko's insecurities, limitations and potential.

The stylish music, mainly played by a piano and orchestra, is excellent and compliments the film. The music is generally in a similar mood to that of 'Spirited Away' and 'Whisper Of The Heart'.

This is just another one of the many masterpieces from Studio Ghibli. I hope you can see this film some time soon.

Everything already said about this wonderful movie is true. It's a classic that should be in every home. Unfortunately, however, it's impossible to obtain in English in a format that works in the U.S. I do have it in Japanese with English subtitles, and that's better than nothing, but is distracting because having to read the subtitles takes away from enjoying the fabulous art work and scenic, enthralling pace of the movie. It's obviously available in English, because I first saw it IN ENGLISH on Turner Classic Movies. It would surely be a huge hit in the U.S., if they would only release it in English in a format that would work here. So it's very frustrating and disappointing that it's been around for this many years and we still can't get it here in a language most Americans speak, in a format we can use here.