Underplayed Gems

Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms (2018)

Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms poster
Original title
さよならの朝に約束の花をかざろう
Directed by
Mari Okada
Genre
war film, Drama, Fantasy, Psychological
Country
Japan
Runtime
1h 55m
Rated
PG-13
Rating
8.1 of 10 from 713 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

A young woman from a long-lived race flees a war and adopts a human baby. She raises him as her son while struggling with their different lifespans.

melancholicslow-burntenderbittersweetfantasticalvisually lushemotionalquiet

What happens

Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms (Japanese: さよならの朝に約束の花をかざろう, Hepburn: Sayonara no Asa ni Yakusoku no Hana o Kazarō; lit. 'Let's Decorate the Promised Flowers on the Morning of Goodbye') is a 2018 Japanese animated high fantasy drama film directed and written by Mari Okada and produced by P.A. Works. It features character designs and animation direction by Yuriko Ishii adapted from Akihiko Yoshida's original designs, and music composed by Kenji Kawai. The film is Okada's directorial debut and the first standalone feature-length, theatrically released production of P.A. Works. Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms tells the story of the titular Maquia, a young girl belonged to a special race called the Iorph, mystical beings who can live for hundreds of years. While escaping war, she finds a lone surviving newborn and raises him as her son. The film premiered in Japan by Showgate on February 24, 2018, and at the Glasgow Film Festival on March 4, 2018. It was released by Madman Entertainment on June 7, 2018. It was released by Anime Limited on June 27, 2018. It was released by Eleven Arts on July 20, 2018. The film's English dub premiered in the United States on September 21, 2018. It was released on Blu-ray Disc and DVD in North America on February 5, 2019. The Blu-ray has both Japanese and English tracks, while the DVD only has an English track. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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