Arrietty (Blu-ray) (2010)
General
| Director: | Hiromasa Yonebayashi |
| Actors: | Ryûnosuke Kamiki, Mirai Shida, Saoirse Ronan, Tom Holland, Olivia Colman, Phyllida Law, Luke Allen-Gale, Geraldine McEwan, Mark Strong |
Beneath the floorboards of a sprawling mansion set in a magical, overgrown garden in the suburbs of Tokyo, tiny 14-year-old Arrietty lives with her equally tiny parents. The house is occupied by two old ladies, who are absolutely unaware of the existence of their miniature tenants. Arrietty and her family live by borrowing. Everything they have, they borrow or make from the things they have borrowed. Essentials like gas, water and food. Tables, chairs, cooking utensils. And treats - a sugar cube here, a scrap of material there. But only a little each time, so the ladies do not notice.
A 12-year-old boy, Sho, moves into the mansion while he waits for urgent medical treatment in the city. Arrietty's parents have always warned her - 'never let the humans see you'. Once seen, little people always have to move on. But the adventurous Arrietty doesn't listen, and Sho discovers her. The two begin to confide in each other and, before long, a friendship begins to blossom.
| Status: | QuickPick |
|---|---|
| Run time: | 94mins |
| Origin: | JAPAN |
| Aspect Ratio: | 16:9 |
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Member Reviews (1)
1 Member
Review
Art S.
says
I liked this latest offering from Studio Ghibli (overseen but not directed by Miyazaki) a lot better than Ponyo or Howl's Moving Castle. Taken from classic children's book The Borrowers (which I didn't think I'd read until I saw this), it tells the story of "little people" who live under the floorboards of an actual human house and who scrounge together an existence from bits and pieces of things they can purloin. Like a lot of great science fiction, the film treats the premise entirely realistically showing how the characters might tackle instrumental goals (such as scaling a cabinet or procuring a tissue) given their size and the resources at their disposal. Like all Studio Ghibli fare, the film also has heart and indirectly addresses some basic human feelings associated with loss and connection. Well worth a look.