Mimi wo sumaseba (1995)

Director:

Yoshifumi Kondo

Writers:

Hayao Miyazaki (screenplay)
Aoi Hîragi (comic) ...

Release Date:

15 July 1995 (Japan)

Genre:

Animation | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Suki na hito ga dekimashita!

Plot:

A young girl finds that all the books she chooses in the library have been previously checked out by the same boy...

Plot Keywords:

Feelings | Clock | Romance | Gem | Violin Making

Cast

Youko Honna	...	Shizuku Tsukishima (voice)
Kazuo Takahashi	...	Seiji Amasawa (voice)
Takashi Tachibana	...	Yasunari Tsukishima (voice)
Shigeru Muroi	...	Asako Tsukishima (voice)
Shigeru Tsuyuguchi	...	The Baron (voice)
Keiju Kobayashi	...	Chikyu-Ya' shujin (voice)
Minami Takayama	...	Kosaka-sensei (voice)
Yorie Yamashita	...	Shiho Tsukishima (voice)
Mayumi Iizuka	...	Kinuyo (voice)
Mai Chiba	...	(voice)
Toshio Suzuki	...	(voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jeff Bennett	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Mika Boorem	...	Kinuyo (voice: English version)
Corey Burton	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Erin Chambers	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Melissa Disney	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Suguru Egawa	...	(voice)
Cary Elwes	...	The Baron (voice: English version)
David Gallagher	...	Seiji (voice: English version)
Harold Gould	...	Nishi (voice: English version)
Yoshihiro Imai	...	(voice)
Naohisa Inoue	...	Tall friend of Mr. Nishi (voice)
Shirô Kishibe	...	(voice)
Abigail Mavity	...	Nao (voice: English version)
Tatsuya Okada	...	(voice)
Deanna Russo	...	High School Student (voice: English version)
Akiko Sakaguchi	...	(voice)
James Sikking	...	Seiya (as James B. Sikking)
Jean Smart	...	Asako (voice: English version)
Brittany Snow	...	Shizuku (voice: English version)
Martin Spanjers	...	Sugimura (voice: English version)
Issei Takahashi	...	Seiji Amasawa
Satoru Takahashi	...	(voice)
Courtney Thorne-Smith	...	Shiho (voice: English version)
Ashley Tisdale	...	Yuko (voice: English version)
Hiromi Yasuda	...	(voice)

Also Known As:

If You Listen Closely (informal literal English title)
Whisper of the Heart (International: English title)

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:PG | South Korea:All | Chile:TE | USA:G | Canada:G (Nova Scotia) | France:U | Germany:o.Al. | UK:U

Company:

Tokuma Shoten

Trivia:

The first Japanese film in Dolby Digital.

Goofs:

Continuity: It is not clear whether this is a mistake or a hint that the Baron is alive, but in every scene that the Baron is shown, he looks different than the time before (position of hands, cane and hat).

Quotes:

[sees Shizuku asleep]
Yasunari Tsukishima: Look at her, my little warrior.

Movie Connections:

References Tonari no Totoro (1988)

Soundtrack:

Take Me Home, Country Roads

They don't get more beautiful

When I first heard of Whisper of the Heart, I didn't feel a significant need to find it and watch it. How good could a teen romance be, a genre that's been beaten to death? Little did I know how much I'd love this film.

I beg of you, don't turn this film away because of the premise, which might strike some as sounding sappy. When Studio Ghibli is involved, you can't go wrong. It's NOTHING like you'd expect from any teen romance from anywhere. Whisper of the Heart has none of that fake, self-indulgent crap that permeates Hollywood, movies about teens that pander to clichés and don't give a damn about real characters or love or true feelings. Whisper of the Heart doesn't fall back on cliché and formula. It's a truly great film. It's a remarkably honest and heartfelt look into a 14-year-old's life, her family and friends, how she falls in love, and there are moments so stirring, so wonderful and yet so simple. Yoshifumi Kondou, the director, showed all the qualities of being a master of animation. It's a real tragedy that he passed away. The film is full of moments that are real and beautiful that use animation, not to exploit the story, but to enhance moments with the simplicity they need in their presentation. And the screenplay, written by the great Hayao Miyazaki, is free from false sentimentality and melodrama. He gives us real characters here, ones so well written that anyone who has been a young teen can relate to them.

Whisper of the Heart is as good an animated film as you'll find. It's a one of a kind anime and it's beautifully done. Are you tired of Hollywood films peddled to you off a studio assembly line? Tired of clichéd romances that have no emotion or humanity?

You want something with real depth, soul, and heart? Seek out Whisper of the Heart. It's beautiful, and refreshingly done. You might just love this film as much as I did.