In this new series of articles, our writers are watching classic films for the first time. This time we have David Brake catching up on the 1991 Studio Ghibli animation Only Yesterday.

Isao Takahata’s Only Yesterday is a top-tier Ghibli film. This subtle, quiet, lyrical animation often goes overlooked for the fantastical fare of Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke and My Neighbour Totoro—a touch understandable, as the studio boasts so much genre-bending, award-winning and awe-inspiring work. Yet the tale of Taeko Okajima, a 27-year-old, unmarried woman who has lived her entire life in Tokyo and is unclear on her future, deserves our collective attention.

Oscillating between Taeko’s memories as a 10 year-old, and her summer ‘vacation’ working in the countryside, writer-director Takahata’s narrative structure could jar. In the hands of a lesser artist, it would be mawkish or corny, using flashbacks as a plot device to explain away adult Taeko’s decisions. Takahata, as in all his films, appreciates that our lives are not perfect, but his skills shine in making us appreciate all that goes into life. The injustices, the growing pains, the swoons of love, the clouds, the smells, the sounds, the unripe pineapple: a gorgeous haze of memories to soak in.

Only Yesterday has no need for pace. Much like Yasujirō Ozu, Takahata is keen on patience. The elements that make up Taeko are not conjured in the snap of fingers. And so, the minimalistic imagery of refined yet leaking watercolours—pinks and blues and yellows—bleed through the years and scenes, perfectly used to contrast against the heavily saturated tones of the immaterial Tokyo.

The internal crossroads our protagonist face will not resonate with those of a younger nature. The path to fulfilment is not wholly a choice they have to make yet. For the rest of us, Only Yesterday is a startling, delicate, intensely relatable, appreciation of a woman reflecting on her young life so far. And the ending. Oh, what an ending!


Available to watch on: Netflix


CAST: (English Dub) Daisy Ridley, Dev Patel, Alison Fernandez, Ashley Eckstein

DIRECTOR: Isao Takahata

WRITER: Isao Takahata

SYNOPSIS: A 27-year-old office worker travels to the countryside while reminiscing about her childhood in Tokyo.