Underplayed Gems

The Story of Yanagawa's Canals (1987)

The Story of Yanagawa's Canals poster
Original title
柳川の運河の物語
Directed by
Isao Takahata
Genre
documentary film
Country
Japan
Runtime
2h 47m
Rating
8.2 of 10 from 9 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

The film examines the history of the canal system in Yanagawa, Japan. It shows how local residents worked to protect their waterways from becoming polluted.

educationalcalmobservationalnostalgicthoughtfulhopefulsteadfastdetailed

What happens

The Story of Yanagawa's Canals (Japanese: 柳川堀割物語, Hepburn: Yanagawa Horiwari Monogatari) is a 1987 live-action animated documentary directed by Isao Takahata and originally broadcast on NHK. The film details the history of the city of Yanagawa, Fukuoka and its inhabitant's struggle to preserve its signature canals from the devastating effects of water pollution. Funded using the profits from Hayao Miyazaki’s Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, the film marks a number of significant firsts for Studio Ghibli. It was Takahata’s first directorial feature for the studio, which he co-founded with Miyazaki and producer Toshio Suzuki in 1985. Furthermore, the film remains the first and only majority live-action Studio Ghibli film to date, aside from a select instance in Pom Poko. The film also has the added feature of being the only Studio Ghibli to be produced independently, with the majority of financing and distribution being handled by Miyazaki’s personal office. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

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