Quick Summary: This film is a pleasant young adult melodrama, but it lacks Studio Ghibli's usual magical realism. 

Title: From Up on Poppy Hill (Kokuriko-zaka kara)

Release: 2011

Director: Goro Miyazaki

Starring:

Masami Nagasawa (voice of Umi)

Junichi Okada (voice of Shun)

Umi, an ordinary high school student in early-60's Japan, realizes she has a crush on her classmate, Shun. At about the same time, Shun, Umi, and their classmates begin on the difficult quest of saving their school clubhouse, a dilapidated Victorian structure, from demolition.

When Umi brings Shun over to her house, she shows him a picture of her late father. Shun is shocked to realise that the photo she shows him, of three young men, is the same photo he is told shows his own deceased father. The rest of the movie focuses on clubhouse repair, the growing friendship - and deepening crush - between Shun and Umi, and the quest to discover if Umi and Shun really are brother and sister.

As a whole, the movie is sweet, but in no way memorable. Some of the otherwise-charming courtship between Shun and Umi would be a bit off-putting, if it were not so very obvious from the start that a happy ending is in store and they are not really siblings. The predictability of the plot makes the film forgettable, as does the movie's lack of the usual Studio Ghibli magical realism. The best parts of the film are the courtship vignettes set to Kyu Sakamoto's Ue O Muite Aruko (Usually known in English under the title Sukiyaki). The slightly-melancholy song adds a truly atmospheric note to the beautifully and tenderly animated scenes.

Another positive is that there are lots of cute details throughout the film, such as Umi running up signal flags in her backyard every morning, that can be read from the harbour. Unfortunately, the signal flags she usually posts are never translated, which really annoyed me.

In the end, the film is a cute young adult melodrama, but not as magical or enthralling as many of Ghibli's previous films. It is still worth seeing, if you're in the right mood.

Originally Written: September 18, 2011