I was immediately taken with The Anthem of the Heart’s shattered fantasy as soon as it started. The new animated movie from the team behind Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day has a fairytale feel but stays mostly grounded in an often harsh reality, and it brilliantly balances its heavy moments with lighthearted ones. Although it grows cliched and empty toward the end, it remains a powerful and beautiful story about a girl learning to find her voice.
The film opens with Jun, a young girl prone to flights of fancy who is fascinated with the castle at the top of a nearby hill. She sees her dad driving away from the castle with a strange woman in his car, and Jun excitedly tells her mom, thinking her dad’s a prince. The castle is actually a love hotel. Jun’s parents separate, and her father tells her it’s all her fault, since she’s such a “chatterbox.” She then wanders up the hill and encounters a magical talking egg. She doesn't want to hurt anyone with her words anymore, so the egg takes away her ability to speak. It's a clever, harsh take on "be careful what you wish for" stories — the juxtaposition of fairytale magic and the despair of a child makes The Anthem of the Heart instantly compelling and rich.
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The film opens with Jun, a young girl prone to flights of fancy who is fascinated with the castle at the top of a nearby hill. She sees her dad driving away from the castle with a strange woman in his car, and Jun excitedly tells her mom, thinking her dad’s a prince. The castle is actually a love hotel. Jun’s parents separate, and her father tells her it’s all her fault, since she’s such a “chatterbox.” She then wanders up the hill and encounters a magical talking egg. She doesn't want to hurt anyone with her words anymore, so the egg takes away her ability to speak. It's a clever, harsh take on "be careful what you wish for" stories — the juxtaposition of fairytale magic and the despair of a child makes The Anthem of the Heart instantly compelling and rich.
Continue reading…
Continue reading...