Mimi wo sumaseba (1995)

Director:

Yoshifumi Kondo

Writers:

Hayao Miyazaki (screenplay)
Aoi Hîragi (comic) ...

Release Date:

15 July 1995 (Japan)

Genre:

Animation | Drama | Music | Romance

Tagline:

Suki na hito ga dekimashita!

Plot:

A young girl finds that all the books she chooses in the library have been previously checked out by the same boy...

Plot Keywords:

Book | Writing | Library | Violin | Violin Maker

Cast

Youko Honna	...	Shizuku Tsukishima (voice)
Kazuo Takahashi	...	Seiji Amasawa (voice)
Takashi Tachibana	...	Seiya Tsukishima (voice)
Shigeru Muroi	...	Asako Tsukishima (voice)
Shigeru Tsuyuguchi	...	The Baron (voice)
Keiju Kobayashi	...	Shiro Nishi (voice)
Yorie Yamashita	...	Shiho Tsukishima (voice)
Maiko Kayama	...	Yuko Harada (voice)
Yoshimi Nakajima	...	Sugimura (voice)
Minami Takayama	...	Kosaka-sensei (voice)
Mayumi Iizuka	...	Kinuyo (voice)
Mai Chiba	...	(voice)
Satoru Takahashi	...	(voice)
Akiko Sakaguchi	...	(voice)
Hiromi Yasuda	...	(voice)

Also Known As:

If You Listen Closely (informal literal English title)
Whisper of the Heart (International: English title)

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:G | Canada:G (Nova Scotia) | Australia:PG | South Korea:All | Chile:TE | Finland:K-3 | France:U | Germany:o.Al. | UK:U

Company:

Tokuma Shoten

Trivia:

The town Shizuku lives in was modeled after Seiseki Sakuragaoka, a hilly town in the Tama Hills, in West Tokyo.

Goofs:

Continuity: It is not clear whether this is a mistake or a hint that the Baron is alive, but in every scene that the Baron is shown, he looks different than the time before (position of hands, cane and hat).

Quotes:

Shizuku: I'm no man's burden! I want to be of use!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in In Search of a Midnight Kiss (2007)

Soundtrack:

Take Me Home, Country Roads

Perfect family entertainment -- great cultural insights, too

Whisper of the Heart is the perfect English title of this masterpiece.

It was such a joy to watch an animated film so effectively produced that you start to forget it is an animation. Characters become real; situations and thoughts and feelings come alive. The story is clean, decent and uplifting in every way. Plus, American viewers get an accurate glimpse into the way younger Japanese teens are viewed and view themselves.

I lived in Japan for several years as a child, and a number of the background sounds (the peculiar insects singing in the trees, the electric trains passing) and customs (bowing to elders, enjoying the wonderful soups, singular focus on school success) struck a deep chord of remembrance. This film is fashioned with such detail and consideration for artistic elements -- I just loved it. I wish my kids were still under 10 and I could have shared it with them. Nowadays, I'm afraid the older boys (over 12) would lack the patience to enjoy the film because, frankly, it bears no relation to high-action animation from Japan or the U.S.

I found this film by accident on Turner Classic Movies, and viewed it the English-dubbed version. There is also a subtitled version, but if you want to enjoy it as a family with youngsters, you'll prefer the English language version. The English voices are clear and well done.

It's a beautiful story with a timeless theme presented with loving care. This film is so good, and so insightful, that I would suggest it could be shown in schools or home-schools for its cultural content alone. And if you have an ounce of sentimentalism, sense of wonder or appreciation for creative beauty, then you'll watch it all by yourself after the kids have gone to bed.