Thank you for this well considered and, above all, intelligent analysis. I must admit that I've become somewhat tired of the ridiculously shallow 'gay for grandma' reviews I've seen on You Tube, written by those who merely project onto the source material what they expect or wish to see. Hence your analysis is a breath of fresh air. Some years ago I was fortunate to have a conversation with Joan G. Robinson's daughter, who confirmed that 'When Marnie Was There' was in fact the story of Robinson trying to come to terms with the dysfunctional relationship she had had with her own mother. By writing 'When Marnie Was There' she was exploring, through imagination, the type of close and loving relationship she wished she'd experienced and learning to forgive her mother in the process. In a 1969 interview with Hannah Carter (a journalist for The Guardian newspaper), Robinson stated: "I am Anna, of course, and Marnie is my mother...My mother was always un-get-at-able. Without meaning to, she always let me down. I found this extremely difficult to forgive, for without realising parents are in the same boat as yourself, that they are children too, you can't forgive them for being frail and human. But until you learn to forgive, you yourself are crippled, can't begin to grow up." Here's a link to a newspaper clipping of the full article: www.newspapers.com/article/93991512/the-guardian/
That's what makes Ghibli's great. In When Marnie was there, When you first watched you thought that she fell in love with her imaginary friend. You watched twice you realize the story was about how her grandmother wanted to be Anna's friend and protected her. But she couldn't and asked for forgiveness. Now you can see two stories from two different perspectives in one movie
That window scene already broke me the first time I watched, and it absolutely destroyed me the second time, now that I had the whole context. "Marnie, how could you leave me behind?" T.T Seriously, I love movies that are able to completely transform like that after the first time, it's like looking at a magic picture.
@@c0mpu73rguy the "Marnie, how could you leave me behind?" was a classic example of Intertextuality. She was being literal in that example, and her words also hides under a subtext (abandoning her when she was young). The following dialogues also follow the same concept. Marnie: "I didn't mean to leave you all alone". "But...at that moment, you weren't there". However, it is far less subtle. "I didn't mean to leave you all alone" is a direct, double meaning that she didn't mean to abandon Anna when she was young. The second line is quite confusing and has been the subject of debate. The "But...at that moment you weren't there" is literal in this case, and there is no "abandoned her when she was a child" subtext. In the original source material, the phrase didn't exist. Thus giving a reason for Marnie to apologize. But in the movie, Marnie practically said that "I was not guilty, you weren't there in the Silo. Therefore, I have no need to apologize." (I know it's strange, but bear with me). So what she is doing here is essentially erasing her "wrongdoings and guilt". This is how the entire scene would sound; Marnie said, "I am not guilty! So don't get mad at me!" Anna: "Oh, so you're not guilty. Then I won't be angry anymore!" All of the changes from the source material were made to "soften" the audience's judgment of Marnie. Ghibli doesn't want the audience to feel unreasonable towards Marnie. At that point in the story, the audience does not know that Marnie died. People may interpret Marnie's "leaving" Anna as abandoning her because she no longer needed her.
Indeed, having other Ghibli works ignored like that feels unfair. Whisper of the Heart is another one of those by the way. A great but sadly too often overlooked film.
Marnie’s my favourite Ghibli film as well. However, I think it’s power has more to do with the fact that it’s a faithful adaptation of the novel, than anything specific to do with Studio Ghibli’ style. On a narrative level, I actually think it’s better than every other Ghibli film I’ve seen.
I haven't read the novel myself yet, so I couldn't really comment on that. I will take your word for it! The only Ghibli film I could compare is Grave of the Fireflies, which also left me in tears lmao
@@DBA007 Don't you think that says something though? The only Ghibli films that have gotten that level of emotional reaction out of you were not directed by Miyazaki?
@@OrtegaSeason Yeah, I get it. Although I respect Miyazaki a lot, his narrative skills are definitely not on par with his visual skills in terms of storytelling. I highly doubt he didn't consider this 'flaw' during his career and he must have made a decision on which aspect of storytelling he truly wanted to develop. Not to mention his numerous statements that he focuses his work towards a younger audience, who naturally care less about the narrative and more about the pretty pictures :)
@@DBA007 I can totally respect that view. What I sometimes get annoyed by is Miyazaki/anime fans who think his films are completely flawless on all levels. I think he does benefit from brand recognition a lot. I mean, would anyone still remember that "Ponyo" existed if it had just been directed by some random guy?
@@OrtegaSeason That's media 101 for ya. I recognize that kind of behaviour everywhere I look. And I must admit I myself am quite guilty on some aspects. For example, I think a series called Monogatari is (near) flawless, while others might see it as a very degenerate kind of anime and be repulsed by it. It all comes down to perspective I guess...
Thank you for this well considered and, above all, intelligent analysis. I must admit that I've become somewhat tired of the ridiculously shallow 'gay for grandma' reviews I've seen on You Tube, written by those who merely project onto the source material what they expect or wish to see. Hence your analysis is a breath of fresh air.
Some years ago I was fortunate to have a conversation with Joan G. Robinson's daughter, who confirmed that 'When Marnie Was There' was in fact the story of Robinson trying to come to terms with the dysfunctional relationship she had had with her own mother. By writing 'When Marnie Was There' she was exploring, through imagination, the type of close and loving relationship she wished she'd experienced and learning to forgive her mother in the process. In a 1969 interview with Hannah Carter (a journalist for The Guardian newspaper), Robinson stated:
"I am Anna, of course, and Marnie is my mother...My mother was always un-get-at-able. Without meaning to, she always let me down. I found this extremely difficult to forgive, for without realising parents are in the same boat as yourself, that they are children too, you can't forgive them for being frail and human. But until you learn to forgive, you yourself are crippled, can't begin to grow up."
Here's a link to a newspaper clipping of the full article: www.newspapers.com/article/93991512/the-guardian/
The film was great. A true classic. My top 5 in the Ghibli library of films.
That's what makes Ghibli's great. In When Marnie was there, When you first watched you thought that she fell in love with her imaginary friend. You watched twice you realize the story was about how her grandmother wanted to be Anna's friend and protected her. But she couldn't and asked for forgiveness. Now you can see two stories from two different perspectives in one movie
That window scene already broke me the first time I watched, and it absolutely destroyed me the second time, now that I had the whole context. "Marnie, how could you leave me behind?" T.T
Seriously, I love movies that are able to completely transform like that after the first time, it's like looking at a magic picture.
@@c0mpu73rguy the "Marnie, how could you leave me behind?" was a classic example of Intertextuality. She was being literal in that example, and her words also hides under a subtext (abandoning her when she was young).
The following dialogues also follow the same concept.
Marnie: "I didn't mean to leave you all alone". "But...at that moment, you weren't there".
However, it is far less subtle. "I didn't mean to leave you all alone" is a direct, double meaning that she didn't mean to abandon Anna when she was young. The second line is quite confusing and has been the subject of debate. The "But...at that moment you weren't there" is literal in this case, and there is no "abandoned her when she was a child" subtext. In the original source material, the phrase didn't exist. Thus giving a reason for Marnie to apologize. But in the movie, Marnie practically said that
"I was not guilty, you weren't there in the Silo. Therefore, I have no need to apologize."
(I know it's strange, but bear with me). So what she is doing here is essentially erasing her "wrongdoings and guilt".
This is how the entire scene would sound;
Marnie said, "I am not guilty! So don't get mad at me!"
Anna: "Oh, so you're not guilty. Then I won't be angry anymore!"
All of the changes from the source material were made to "soften" the audience's judgment of Marnie. Ghibli doesn't want the audience to feel unreasonable towards Marnie. At that point in the story, the audience does not know that Marnie died. People may interpret Marnie's "leaving" Anna as abandoning her because she no longer needed her.
Indeed, having other Ghibli works ignored like that feels unfair. Whisper of the Heart is another one of those by the way. A great but sadly too often overlooked film.
Marnie’s my favourite Ghibli film as well. However, I think it’s power has more to do with the fact that it’s a faithful adaptation of the novel, than anything specific to do with Studio Ghibli’ style. On a narrative level, I actually think it’s better than every other Ghibli film I’ve seen.
I haven't read the novel myself yet, so I couldn't really comment on that. I will take your word for it!
The only Ghibli film I could compare is Grave of the Fireflies, which also left me in tears lmao
@@DBA007 Don't you think that says something though? The only Ghibli films that have gotten that level of emotional reaction out of you were not directed by Miyazaki?
@@OrtegaSeason Yeah, I get it. Although I respect Miyazaki a lot, his narrative skills are definitely not on par with his visual skills in terms of storytelling. I highly doubt he didn't consider this 'flaw' during his career and he must have made a decision on which aspect of storytelling he truly wanted to develop. Not to mention his numerous statements that he focuses his work towards a younger audience, who naturally care less about the narrative and more about the pretty pictures :)
@@DBA007 I can totally respect that view. What I sometimes get annoyed by is Miyazaki/anime fans who think his films are completely flawless on all levels. I think he does benefit from brand recognition a lot. I mean, would anyone still remember that "Ponyo" existed if it had just been directed by some random guy?
@@OrtegaSeason That's media 101 for ya. I recognize that kind of behaviour everywhere I look. And I must admit I myself am quite guilty on some aspects. For example, I think a series called Monogatari is (near) flawless, while others might see it as a very degenerate kind of anime and be repulsed by it. It all comes down to perspective I guess...
Great video essay. Beautifully worded.
when marnie was there is my favorite movie from Ghibli. it pretty much tells my own story.
What a wonderful review. Thank you for making this.
I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for watching :)
Awesome!
Really solid, video.
Thank you!