arts // no. §

A time-travelling journey
through family life

> ‘Mirai’ film review

Jerrison Oracion
Senior Columnist

keen

he Anime “New Wave ” is happening
right now, as we see in the recent film
Mirai.

Unlike the films of Studio Ghibli,
which are part of an earlier style of anime,
these more recent anime films try to
present something in a new way and show
mind-blowing images, as seen in titles like
Your Name. and the films of Studio Ponoc.
Studio Ponoc’s films in this style include
Mary and the Witch's Flower and their next
film Modest Heroes (possibly opening in
Vancouver next month), which is a series of
short films in one film.

It all began with Mamoru Hosoda’s
2006 film The Girl Who Leapt Through
Time, which presented time travelling as
you've never seen it before. Hosoda’s next
film Mirai also involves time travelling—
except this time, it focuses on aspects of
family life.

Kun (Jaden Waldman) has a new
sister named Mirai, which means future.
However, when his mother (Rebecca Hall)
and father (John Cho) spend more time
with Mirai, Kun feels that they like his

 

new sister more than him. When he goes
outside of their front lawn and stands
near their tree, he meets several members
of his family in other forms including his
dog, Yukko (Crispin Freeman), a future
version of Mirai (Victoria Grace), and

his grandmother’s father (Daniel Dae
Kim). They all help Kun get through the
challenges of having a sibling.

The film doesn't only focus on the
relationship between Kun and Mirai.

It also portrays Kun’s parents handling
two children, their father taking care of
them while he is working, Kun’s mother’s
relationship with her own mother and
her childhood, and Kun learning new
experiences.

Most of the time the fantasy sequences
begin the same way, which can be
repetitive. I think they could have started
them another way, like cutting scenes and
speech differently. We also see a lot of
shots of the frame panning up and down
between the city of Yokohama and Kun’s
house.

Mirai includes some scenes that are
usually not seen in anime. In the scene
where Kun learns to ride a bike, after he
makes an attempt, it cuts to black before
he tries again. When the film shows
something through an iPad, the image
looks like something in a video camera in

the 1990s, although recent iPads have the
retina display so the screen should not be
pixilated.

Hosoda uses some of his personal
experiences to show what the family is
going through after Mirai is born. There are
a lot of references to the bullet trains and
the trains in Japan because Kun likes trains
and building train tracks.

The last quarter of the film is scary,
so it might frighten young children. The
station attendant is as creepy as HAL from
2001: A Space Odyssey. The songs in the
film by Tamuro Yamashita set the mood of

BC artist's painting illustrates
explorative nature of a new year

» An introspective look at Bita Motamedi’s ‘The Far End’

Naomi Ambrose
Staff Writer

 

Fe those of us who seek inspiration for
this new year, Bita Motamedi’s The Far
End will surely inspire us to explore 2019.
Motamedi is a local watercolourist
and portrait artist based in Burnaby. Her
watercolour painting The Far End was
featured in the Federation of Canadian

Artists 2016 Juried Exhibition. Through
artwork, students can be reminded of their
goals and dreams for the coming months. I
will use the vast landscape of The Far End
as an illustration of how a powerful piece
of art can remind us of our promises to
ourselves and our potential.

The wide blue sky is part of a
landscape that is a marvelous sight to
behold. The large image of the blue sky

that fills up a substantial portion of the
painting awakens our curiosity to dream.
The wide sky piques our interest by giving
us a moment to wonder about the goals we
hope to achieve this year. If you have goals
and dreams that will push you to reach for
the clouds, the mighty blue sky will inspire
you to reach higher.

The sea is another important feature
of the landscape. The wide sea illustrates
the different stages of an adventure.
Sometimes, an adventure can start off
calm, the way the sea in this image
appears to be serene. This calmness
could help to gradually prepare you for
the inevitable action and movement
that are often required to pursue new
year goals.

The sea is also a reminder that
exploring the new year may involve
travelling across water to visit new or
familiar lands. If one of your 2019 goals
involves exploring British Columbia, the
image of the sea may inspire you to take
a trip to Victoria via ferry. Or perhaps
the image of the sea propels you to
explore the New Westminster Quayside
and Queensborough neighborhoods
via the New Westminster Q to Q ferry
service.

There are also images of three tall,
leafless trees. These leafless trees reflect

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the film and end it on a happy note. The
track in the beginning of the film sounds
like it could have fit with the Queen song,
“You're My Best Friend.”

Mirai is a mind-blowing experience
that shows that having a sibling can be fun.
If you'd like to learn more about Mamoru
Hosoda, there is a retrospective on his films
by ScreenPrism.

While Mirai will be released on DVD
and Blu-ray soon, if the film gets Best
Animated Feature Film in the Academy
Awards this year, it might be rereleased in
select theatres.

explorations may not be immediately filled
with swashbuckling, epic adventures. Yes,
it’s true that the new year is here. Yes, it’s
also true that your new year may start off
bare. Nonetheless, even though you may
not see the immediate beauty of your

2019 goals, take a moment to observe the
presence of the leafless trees as a reminder
to continue pursuing your aspirations.

The use of a rainless, bright landscape
illustrates the luminance that is associated
with a new year. Ignite your new year
exploration engine with a bright, upbeat
feeling.

The inclusion of the parked boat on
the sand is a reminder that we can start our
2019 exploration at a still point. You can
start your journey from a stationary stance.
You can also begin your new sojourn using
a tool, an object, or a mechanism that
may not be fully utilized in the beginning
stages. However, as time progresses, you,
along with the object that facilitates your
journey, will eventually increase your
potential to achieve greatness in the new
year.

Within the galaxy of artwork,
interpretations of paintings that reflect
explorative aspects of a new year can
inspire us to pursue our goals. I hope my
interpretation of The Far End can inspire
you to ponder and wonder about the

— the importance of embracing the new meanings hidden within paintings.

year with an open mind. Your new year

nh
h i

 

‘The Far End' by Bita Motamedi