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Move over Studio Ghibli; this Japanese award winner fashions a captivating coming-of-age tale from the country's traumatic past.
As World War II rages, teenager Suzu Urano agrees to wed naval clerk Shūsaku Hōjō. Moving to live with his family on the other side of Hiroshima, she pursues a new future; however, history dictates that a spate of bombings and a hovering mushroom cloud will change her life forever.
Learning both patience and subtlety from his time as an assistant director on Kiki's Delivery Service (MIFF 1997), writer/director Sunao Katabuchi (Mai Mai Miracle, MIFF 2010) crafts a moving drama that's as resonant in emotion as it is rich in animated detail. Filled with watercolour splendour yet potently conveying the many difficulties of even ordinary tasks during wartime, In This Corner of the World proves a stellar addition to Japan's cinematic contemplations of conflict, hand-drawn or otherwise.
'An enchanting delight … Exactly what a tender yet tragic Second World War-set effort should be, especially one that sweepingly traces a young woman's determined journey to adulthood as uncertainty and worse looms.' – Screen Daily
