From ???@??? Mon Jan 11 15:56:40 1999
To: anime
From: Kiki
Subject: anime: Whispers, this wednesday, plus what next?

I'd like to take an aside after Porco to show Whispers of the Heart [Mimi O Sumaseba] by the late Kondo Yoshifumi, then next week follow with Miyazaki's latest film, Mononoke Hime.

I had the great fortune to have met Yoshifumi-san in September, 1997.  He died tragically from an aneurysm, 5 months later at only 47.  He was the animation supervisor on a number of Ghibli films: Kiki, Omohide Poro Poro, Grave of the Fireflies, and Mononoke Hime.  And he was a good friend of both Miyazaki and Takahata.

Mimi O Sumaseba is a love story of sorts about a high school girl obsessed with faery tales...and the boy who's name is always above hers on the library cards...  And it has the added treat that she's translating the American song "Country Road" into Japanese. :)  I like Shizuku very much -- she's a hopeless romantic, but I think this gives her the ability to see magic in ordinary things.  I like that.

Here's a lot of great info:

http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/mimi

Email pizza orders by 4pm wednesday.

Quick note: please ask not to be *counted* if you're NOT PAYING full price for pizza -- EVEN if you didn't order any.  Erika lost money last week... :(

What's next:

I'm thinking of having an extra showing of Nausicaa -- say next tuesday -- before showing MH because these two films are often compared.  No wonder.  You'll see some similarities right away.  Miyazaki has changed a lot in the intervening 12 years and the differences reflect it.  It's esp. interesting to compare MH with the Nausicaa manga [ie comic] -- I consider the manga to be one of the finest pieces of fiction I've ever read...

From there, we'll turn to Takahata's films.  I'm gonna go kinda randomly: Omohide Poro Poro first -- my absolute favorite -- then Tanuki Gassen Pon Poko, then Grave of the Fireflies.  From there, I'm trying to get Castle Cagliostro, which is Miyazaki's first film -- it's wonderful!  After that, we're wide open, and I think I'll switch to monthly showings.

We'll show some more typical anime films then, such as: Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Memories, Wings of Honniamise, X and maybe some TV shows like Ranma, Gundam Wing, Evangelion, Magic Knights Rayearth, and others.

Any other suggestions?

Summary:

So, this week:

What: Mimi O Sumaseba -- or Whispers of the Heart [lit. If You Listen Closely]
When: the usual, wednesday, 6:30 eat, 7:30 show
Where: Bugville, the old building, email for directions

Email your order and I hope to see you there!

Kiki