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Japan · 2013
Rated PG · 2h 17m
Director Isao Takahata
Starring Aki Asakura, Kengo Kora, Nobuko Miyamoto, Atsuko Takahata
Genre Animation, Drama, Fantasy
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Found inside a shining stalk of bamboo by an old bamboo cutter and his wife, a tiny girl grows rapidly into an exquisite young lady. The mysterious young princess enthralls all who encounter her—but ultimately she must confront her fate, the punishment for her crime.
This adaptation of a 10th-century folk tale is less sumptuous than Ghibli maestro Hiyao Miyazaki’s surreal classics, yet it’s also more affecting than most of them. An allegory about the irrecoverable joys of childhood, it may make parents hug their kids now.
Taking Eastern watercolours as inspiration, the aesthetic is impressionistic and painterly with a fluidity that imbues the piece with an intrinsic magic.
The A.V. Club by David Ehrlich
A devastating and deceptively simple tale adapted from 10th-century folklore, Isao Takahata’s The Tale Of Princess Kaguya distills a millennium of Japanese storytelling into a timeless film that feels both ancient and alive in equal measure.
Slant Magazine by Elise Nakhnikian
The soft colors, graceful movements, and clean lines together embody the ineffable beauty of life on Earth that is one of the film's main themes.
The Hollywood Reporter by Leslie Felperin
It’s a lovely piece of work.
The Tale of Princess Kaguya is a visionary tour de force, morphing from a childlike gambol into a sophisticated allegory on the folly of materialism and the evanescence of beauty.
Throughout The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya, even when it gets bogged down in too much story, the animation is so gorgeous that any given frame could pass for a masterwork.
The Playlist by Oliver Lyttelton
It's a remarkably gorgeous piece of work.
The Telegraph by Robbie Collin
Emotions and moods are anchored to specific moments of stillness, and we feel them all the more intensely because of it.
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We must live.
Upon being sent to live with relatives in the countryside due to an illness, an emotionally distant adolescent girl becomes obsessed with an abandoned mansion and infatuated with a girl who lives there - a girl who may or may not be real.
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Newlywed Suzu Urano moves to her new life in Hiroshima, where she perseveres through World War II with pluck and determination.
Please login to add films to your watchlist.
Two kids race to find a lost civilization and keep a magic crystal out of the wrong hands.
Can these two siblings beat the odds?
Is the life you have now really everything you imagined it to be?
A community of magical racoon dogs fight back against urban development — with hilarious results.
The Yamadas are a Japanese family in Tokyo, and we see them cope with life's little conflicts in their own way.
Taku glimpses a familiar woman on the platform opposite boarding a train and recounts the events that brought them together.
Shizuki lives a simple life, dominated by her love of stories and writing, until one day she meets her “Prince of Books.”
Contemplating the reasons for his illness, Boonmee treks through the jungle with his family to a mysterious hilltop cave.
An aging widower arranges a marriage for his only daughter.
A group of Yokohama students fight to save their school's clubhouse from the wrecking ball during preparations for the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games.
A 3-D experimental narrative essay film about a man whose wife is having an affair and the dissolution of their relationship.
We must live.
Upon being sent to live with relatives in the countryside due to an illness, an emotionally distant adolescent girl becomes obsessed with an abandoned mansion and infatuated with a girl who lives there - a girl who may or may not be real.
Two worlds. One destiny.
Come discover the magic of nature...
Newlywed Suzu Urano moves to her new life in Hiroshima, where she perseveres through World War II with pluck and determination.
Beautiful animation with a tragic ending that leaves a bitter aftertaste, in the way of old folktales.