Farewell, Country Road
Ghibli Month — Chapter 10: Whisper of the Heart
Director — Yoshifumi Kondō
Year of Release — 1995
Language — English
How Many Times Watched? — 1 time
Rating — ★★★★★
This is a Must Watch. Whisper of the Heart takes everything Studio Ghibli is known for and puts it all together to create their first great romance.
I can’t imagine being the first director at Studio Ghibli to helm a theatrical release that’s not directed by Hayao Miyazaki or Isao Takahata. The weight of a studio with nothing but hits bearing down on your shoulders. That has to be completely nerve-wracking. For Yoshifumi Kondō, that was his reality. He was being groomed to be the successor to Miyazaki and Takahata, and Whisper of the Heart was his first attempt to prove himself.
Prove himself he did. Studio Ghibli has mostly strayed away from stories focused on a central romance in their decade of work at this point. A story that takes place in a modern-day suburb of Tokyo without elements of fantasy was something completely new. Kondō was aiming to tell a new story but with the same whimsy Studio Ghibli is known for. Luckily, he had the great Hayao Miyazaki writing the screenplay, so it was a sure-fire success.
Whisper of the Heart showed a lot of potential in Kondō as Studio Ghibli’s next big director. Unfortunately, in 1998, Yoshifumi Kondō died of a ruptured aneurysm at the age of 47. The world lost a great storyteller far too soon, but he lives on in Whisper of the Heart, a phenomenal film that stands among the best animated films of all time.
Everything about Whisper of the Heart is whimsical, even in its simple storytelling and grounded narrative. The film follows Shizuku, a girl in her last year of junior high school. She loves to read and get lost in the narratives. Shizuku is a girl that longs for adventure. She hates the normalcy of life. She doesn’t want to think about boys. She has no desire to study for her high school entrance exams. All she wants to do is live a vibrant and full life, like the characters in her stories.
While at the library trying to achieve her goal of reading 20 books over summer vacation, she finds a name that has checked out every single one of them before her: Seiji Amasawa. While trying to find this mysterious boy, she chases a cat across the city, befriends an antique store owner, and begins writing her own novel, all the while finding the inspiration within herself to keep moving forward.
Shizuku is a masterclass in Ghibli character design. She is immediately likeable. Everything from her interactions with others and the way she talks to how she carries herself and looks at the world is perfect. She is a strong girl and isn’t shy about who she is. An all-around incredible character, Shizuku stands right up there alongside the likes of Chihiro, San, Nausicaä, Kiki, and Sophie in the ranks of best Studio Ghibli heroines.
Being a film that has more of a focus on the romance, there needs to be a sense of truth and genuine chemistry between the two characters. From the moment they meet, it is clear that Shizuku and Seiji are meant to be together, even if she thinks Seiji is a jerk that hates her writing. The romance is the driver of the plot, but it is not the focus. Shizuku is the focus. Her development and discovery of who she is and wants to be in life are what Whisper of the Heart is all about.
At the beginning of the film, Shizuku is a self-conscious girl that will barely let her best friend read her writing. She assumes it is awful and no one should have to torture themselves by reading it. (Kind of hits close to home for me. oof.) As the story unfolds, Shizuku begins to see herself as she really is: a writer with real talent but still needing development. She gains self-confidence and becomes sure of herself as a writer and, more importantly, as a woman.
At its core, Whisper of the Heart is a film about following your passions and finding self-assuredness. Shizuku is a writer. She knows that, though she thinks she’s no good at it. She wants to be a writer when she grows up but doesn’t feel confident in her abilities to actually pursue her passion. She says to herself, “There’s always a voice inside me that says, ‘Things won’t go that smoothly.’” This causes her to become stagnant in life. She doesn’t feel high school is for her as it is too slow for her, but she doesn’t really know what to do. Shizuku fears what the future holds for her because it means putting herself out there.
“What if I look inside myself and don’t find any gems? What if I’m just a rock?” — Shizuku
It takes certain people coming into her life for her to better understand her own passions in life. She needs her dad to tell her, “Not everyone has to follow the same path.” She needs Seiji to say, “I can’t tell if I have talent or not until I try.” She needs Nishi, the antique store owner to tell her, “Don’t expect perfection at first,” as well as, “You’re wonderful. There’s no need to rush. Please take your time to polish your talent.” All of these people speak into Shizuku’s life, saying the things that will help her get over her fear, giving her the inspiration she needs to continue to pursue her passion for writing.
Throughout the film, Shizuku is tasked with writing original lyrics to the tune of John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” for the chorus club to perform at junior high school graduation. In the beginning, her lyrics are fairly similar to the original, not good enough for her. She also made a parody called “Concrete Roads” to parody the building-up of the West-Tokyo suburbs. By the end, after her journey of self-reflection and moving forward, she writes new lyrics that perfectly encapsulate the feelings of being torn between the past and the future and what life holds for you.
Shizuku can no longer cling to the comfort of her childhood. She knows who she is now and needs to step off into the unknown. The fear makes her want to turn back to the ease of her past, but she knows she needs to keep moving forward. The lyrics are as follows:
I dreamed of living, alone but fearless
I dreamed of being courageous
Putting aside any loneliness
I went ahead
Country road
If I follow this road
I think it continues to my hometown
Country road
I’m getting tired of walking, then standing still
Floating closer, my hometown
The uphill road winding around the hill
I scold myself and keep walking
Country road
If I follow this road
I think it continues to my hometown
Country road
No matter what discouraging times there are
I’ll never show any tears
It will take heart to set myself free
From my memories
Country road
Even though this road continues to my hometown
I just can’t go, I can’t go back
Country road
Country road
Onto tomorrow, to face myself
I want to go back, but I can’t
Farewell, country road
Shizuku is saying goodbye to her comfortable childhood. She is stepping out and doing something scary. She may fail a few times, but it is something she must do.
The trouble Shizuku goes through really hits home for me. For some reason, I decided to graduate from university right in the middle of a pandemic. A piece of advice: don’t do that. I am currently living at home with my parents with no clear direction. I have dreams, but I am scared to pursue them at risk of not being perfect. I want to make movies. I want to tell stories. I want to write. I want to draw. I want to create.
But I am scared. I am very scared of my hard work being bad. It’s easier to not create so then it won’t be bad. But I need to do something. I need to be uncomfortable to do anything of note. Ghibli Month has been healing for me. It is my first step out into the unknown, away from my country road. And I’ve been loving it. Not all of my stories are phenomenal, but I am glad to just be putting something out there. Even if I have no idea what it looks like right now, I’m finally excited for what my future holds.
So, what are you afraid of? What are you having trouble letting go? What do you need to leave behind? What are you meant to do in life and what’s keeping you from doing it?
Farewell, country road.
