The Story of Yanagawa's Canals (1987)

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

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)

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