Netflix Friday - Volume 15

Some Netflix film tips for the weekend! And there is something for everyone, since I picked a movie for all the different genres.

Action: Bumblebee (2018)
On the run in the year 1987, Bublee finds refuge in a junkyard in a small California beach town. On the cusp of turning 18 and trying to find her place in the world, Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld) discovers Bumblebee, battle-scarred and broken.

Drama: The Squid and the Whale (2005)
We follow two young boys (Jesse Eisenberg, Owen Kline) dealing with their parents divorce (Laura Linney, Jeff Daniels) in Brooklyn in the 1980s.

Comedy: The Naked Gun (1988)
Incompetent polive Detective Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) must foil an attempt to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II.

Animation: When Marnie Was There (2014)
Due to 12-year-old Anna’s (Hailee Steinfeld) asthma, she’s sent to stay with relatives of her guardian in the Japanese countryside. She likes to be along, sketching. She befriends Marnie, but who is this mysterious girl?

Romance: Stardust (2007)
In a countryside town bordering on a magical land, a young man (Charlie Cox) makes a promise to his beloved (Claire Danes) that he’ll retrieve a fallen star by venturing into the magical realm.

Horror: Sleepy Hollow (1999)
Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp) is sent to Sleepy Hollow to investigate the decapitations of three people, with the culprit being the legendary apparition, The Headless Horseman.

Science Fiction: Interstellar (2014)
A team of explorers travel through a wormhole in space in an attempt to ensure humanity’s survival.

Crime: American History X (1998)
A former neo-nazi skinhead (Edward Norton) tries to prevent his younger brother (Edward Furlong) from going the same wrong path that he did.

Thriller: Basic Instinct (1992)
A violent police detective (Michael Douglas) investigates a brutal murder that might involve a manipulative and seductive novelist (Sharon Stone).

Documentary: Down to Earth with Zac Efron (2020)
Actor Zac Efron journeys around the world with wellness expert Darin Olien in search of healthy, sustainable ways to live.

Family: The Lego Movie (2014)
An ordinary LEGO construction worker (Chris Pratt), thought to be the prophesied as ‘special’, is recruited to join a quest to stop an evil tyrant from gluing the LEGO universe into eternal stasis.

10s Movie Review - When Marnie Was There

Director: Hiromasa Yonebayashi

Genre: Animation/ Drama/ Family

Runtime: 103 minutes

Year: 2014

Starring: Hailee Steinfeld, John C. Reilly, Vanessa Williams, Catherine O’Hara, Kathy Bates, Ellen Burstyn, Kiernan Shipka

Description: Due to 12 year-old Anna’s (Hailee Steinfeld) asthma, she’s sent to stay with relatives of her guardian in the Japanese countryside. She likes to be alone, sketching. She befriends Marnie. Who is the mysterious, blonde Marnie?

Review: Now that grandmaster Hayao Miyazaki passed the torch after “The Wind Rises”, the question remains whether Japanese animation will be the same. With this Studio Ghibli film, Miyazaki has trained a team of very talented animation directors and draughtsmen. The studio has developed a unique style that has bridged the gap between the graphic rough Japanase anime and the sweet style of Walt Disney. Stylistically, the emphasis is on the hand-drawn animation, where the computer only serves as a support. And personally, I have always preferred the hand-drawn style. Thematically Ghibli is universally oriented with emotional stories that weave old Japanese traditions with Western values. In addition to Miyazaki’s extensive oeuvre, his colleagues have managed to enchant the world.

The newest film is the compelling and dreamy “When Marnie Was There”. Director Hiromasa Yonebayashi took care of this full-length animation, based on the novel by British children’s book author Joan G. Robinson. The book was a favorite for Miyazaki, who often sought a connection with Western literature for his film adaptations. Yonebayashi succeeds in fusing traditional English elements with Japanese influences, although his characters have a western look, as the vast majority of Ghibli productions. The clever thing is that Yonebayashi doesn’t shy away from adult themes such as illness, loss, loneliness and abandonment and manages to capture this in an imaginative but for the animation studio remarkably earthy setting.

Central is twelve-year-old Anna, a talented girl who, in a poignant opening dialogue, declares that the world contains an imaginary circle in which she clearly stands outside. The girl is not noticed by her surroundings and was given up for adoption as a child. Anna also suffers from a severe form of asthma. In order to get some rest and fresh air, her adoptive mother sends Anna to family on the coast. The nosy girl loves to draw, and quickly starts to explore her surroundings. During her first exploration, she discovers an eccentric country house overlooking a swamp area. Anna thinks she recognizes the house and the blonde girl sitting at the window from her dreams and decides to investigate. Her host family maintains that it is an empty mansion, but Anna cannot let it go. Once she comes into contact with Marnie, the blonde girl at the window, a special friendship develops.

Yonebayashi constantly plays with the thin line between dream and reality. The bond between Anna and Marnie becomes so close that both threaten to lose themselves in the friendship. This never becomes threatening, but both girls want to try to hold on to what connects them for as long as possible, even if the world around them changes.

Although it’s not that hard to guess what’s really going on, it’s easily forgiven since we were again treated with beautiful imagery, a timeless story and lots of heart. Studio Ghibli really needs to keep creating.

Rating: 4/ 5