Squibble at NZIFF – Week Two

In the middle of the year I always seem get so busy that blogging gets put to the side, so I was never able to upload my post about the remaining films I saw at NZIFF 2014.Here it is finally!

The final two animated films I saw were The Tale of Princess Kaguya and Patema Inverted.

The Tale of Princess Kaguya

2013

Studio Ghibli

The latest film from Studio Ghibli, based on a Japanese fairytale. The Princess Kaguya tells the story of how a bamboo cutter and his wife find a tiny princess in a bamboo shoot and raise her as their own child.

This film did not disappoint – although the story seemed to wander a bit in the middle. The Story of Princess Kaguya was beautifully animated and it is the only animated film to which I have ever been where the audience spontaneously applauded at the end. This is a must-see, and I wish it had been the last film on my list this year as it would have been a great end to the festival.

Patema Inverted

2013

Purple Cow Studios Japan

I had been waiting to see Patema Inverted for a while, so was very excited when I saw it was part of the NZIFF 2014 lineup.

Patema Inverted is a post-apocolyptic tale of a girl living in a society underground. One day she ventures to the surface only to find that everything in the world above seems to be upside-down. The story and characters are charming, but there were a few plot-holes which made the story a bit confusing at times. I will be definitely keen to see this again when it comes out on DVD/Blu-ray but it wasn’t the high note I was hoping for at the end of the festival.

I thoroughly enjoyed the film festival this year and am already looking to next year’s festival. I am hoping Studio Ghibli’s film ‘When Marnie Was There’ will be part of the animation line-up!