Review: Whisper of the Heart (2022)

A live-action sequel set 10 years after Whisper of the Heart, Aoi Hiiragi’s manga that was popularised by the Studio Ghibli movie of the same name. Shizuka is now 24-years old and has given up on being a writer, instead working as an editor for a small children’s publisher - a job she is also growing disillusioned with. Feeling burned out and unsure of how to fix her life, Shizuka decides to visit Italy, to see Seiji for the first time in 10 years.

With Hiiragi’s manga not being officially licensed in English, most people reading this will be more familiar with the beloved Ghibli film by the late Yoshifumi Kondō. An inspiring tale of young love that encourages us all to pursue our dreams, this new film from Yūichirō Hirakawa is not an unrealistic take on where those characters may end up a decade later - weighed down by the burdens and expectations of adulthood. Shizuka’s struggle is real, and one that I personally find relatable to myself right now. How can you enjoy creative endeavours like writing when you have to toil in a job you’re unhappy with? Can our dreams even change with the passage of time, and should we accept that, or keep on fighting?

The film raises those questions, but doesn’t really answer beyond basic platitudes. The biggest problem with this film is that itself suffers from a crisis of confidence - it doesn’t know whether to be a transformative commentary on the original manga, or a nostalgic return to the Studio Ghibli film.

There are notable differences compared to Ghibli’s film, such as Seiji being a cellist instead of a violin maker (even the original manga had him be a painter) and the origin of The Baron being closer to the source material. However, the film also has several callbacks to elements exclusive to Kondö’s anime - even recreating sets and shots. I wish the film had chosen either path of being a new transformative take on the original story or a sequel to Ghibli’s beloved film, instead of this jumbled halfway house.

Shizuka and Seiji’s relationship is also… confusing. There are mentions of Shizuka “waiting” for him, as well as them being in a long distance relationship. Not to mention a curveball reveal from one of Seiji’s fellow musicians that just felt thrown in to add some drama. On a related note, the directing of the non-Japanese actors certainly left something to be desired. The sequences in Italy unfortunately felt quite amateurish, and the film felt more confidently made.

I found my time with the film enjoyable enough, and it remains an interesting curiosity for those interested in Ghibli and adjacent works. However, this is one film that could learn from its main character’s arc, especially given how phenomenal and notable the preceding adaptation is. It might have worked better as a TV drama, but even that would only improve so much.

Some other observations:

Shizuka’s conflict about her editor job was entirely the fault of her boss, and that wasn’t acknowledged at all. Combined with her being chastised for using her annual leave, this film really cemented how much working for a Japanese company would suck.

As a final note, I watched the German/US Blu-ray release from Capelight, and the English subtitle script needed editing. Without a credit listed on the release, I can only assume that the subtitle script was translated from Japanese, hence the use of “rearry” that broke my immersion during an important scene.

★★