Harvard Film Archive – Weekend Matinee notes

December 2018 ∙ Originally published in Harvard Film Archives

The HFA continues its specially priced screenings of films for children, teenagers and their accompanying adults. Frequently drawing from the Harvard Film Archive collection, this on-going selection of classic and contemporary films from around the world is dedicated to presenting work in its original exhibition format and language.

Film descriptions by Juan Ramirez, unless otherwise noted.

Meet Me in St. Louis

Directed by Vincente Minnelli. 

With Judy Garland, Margaret O’Brien, Mary Astor. 
US, 1945, DCP, color, 113 min. 
DCP source: Warner Bros.

“Wasn’t I lucky to be born in my favorite city?”

Before she was Esther Blodgett singing about “The Man That Got Away,” Judy Garland was Esther Smith, singing about “The Boy Next Door.” The film that married Garland’s song-and-dance magic to Vincente Minnelli’s euphoric fantasias—and, shortly after, Garland and Minnelli themselves—Meet Me in St. Louis is still regarded as one of the highest achievements in the American movie musical genre. Adapted from Sally Benson’s short stories, it follows a year in the life of the Smith family as their native St. Louis prepares for the advent of the 1904 World’s Fair. Under their father’s strict rule, the Smith girls yearn for self-actualization, taking it upon themselves to get the lives and loves they want while dealing with younger sister Tootie’s antics. Deemed “culturally significant” by the Library of Congress, this Technicolor vision of turn-of-the-century Americana introduced the standards “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and “The Trolley Song,” cementing its place in pop culture history. 

The Big Bad Fox & Other Tales… 
(Le grand méchant renard et autres contes…) 

Directed by Benjamin Renner and Patrick Imbert. 
With Céline Ronté, Boris Rehlinger, Guillaume Bouchede. 
France/Belgium, 2017, DCP, color, 83 min. 
French and Mandarin with English subtitles. 
DCP source: Gkids

An all-animal theater troupe presents three tales of barnyard adventure in this animated anthology based on director Benjamin Renner’s own comics. Featuring lively voice work and especially snappy dialogue, the troupe feverishly sketches the exploits of a less-than-clever fox left responsible for three chicks to whom he grows too attached to devour; a stork too lazy to deliver his infant package and the beleaguered trio of animals who take up the job; and finally, a surly pig who must find a way to save Christmas after his incompetent friends believe they have killed Santa Claus. Running through each segment is a tender core of sincere emotion fastened around the bonds between parent and child, which keeps the slapstick jokes grounded and the charming 2D animation soaring. Though the phrase “fun for the whole family” is tossed around quite generously, this is one film certain to keep adult ears as perked up for the witty Gallic humor as children’s eyes on the delightful on-screen mischief.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time 
(Toki o kakeru shojo) 

Directed by Mamoru Hosoda. 
With Riisa Naka, Takuya Ishida, Mitsutaka Itakura. 
Japan, 2006, 35mm, color, 98 min. 
Japanese with English subtitles. 
Print source: The Japan Foundation

When timid high schooler Makoto is ejected from her bike onto the path of an oncoming train, her end seems imminent. Thanks to a mysterious device she encountered earlier, however, she cheats death and learns she has gained the ability to leap through time. What begins as a wish-fulfillment fantasy of avoiding responsibilities soon turns into a weightier exercise in morality, as Makoto is forced to reckon with the results of her actions, which start to take on life-or-death consequences. Hosoda’s first feature film outside the realm of established franchises is a calling card for his inventiveness, showcasing his penchant for varied styles of animation, time travel vortexes and ruminations on the linearity of time. His themes are simultaneously laid bare and complicated by stylistic and narrative details, brilliantly exemplified in Makoto’s friend, Kazuko, an art historian working to restore a precious painting from the degradation of time.

Mirai

Directed by Mamoru Hosoda. 
With Moka Kamishiraishi, Haru Kuroki, Gen Hoshino. 
Japan, 2018, DCP, color, 98 min. 
Japanese with English subtitles. 
DCP source: Gkids

Hosoda returns to the theme of time travel, this time as a way to teach his young protagonist valuable lessons from his family tree. As four-year-old Kun grows tired of the attention his parents lavish on his newborn sister, Mirai, he encounters her future self in a mystical garden outside the family’s gorgeous modernist home. Annoyed at her older brother’s cruelty towards her infant self, she takes him on a Capra-esque adventure through their family’s history, showing him the little moments that led to his own existence in the hope of teaching him to cope with living with a baby sister. A touching meditation on the passage of time and the foundations of family, Mirai debuted at the Cannes-adjacent Directors’ Fortnight to great acclaim for its stunning visuals and nuanced depiction of the complexities of living within a shared household and history. 

How to Train Your Dragon

Directed by Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders. 
With Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Christopher Mintz-Plasse. 
US, 2010, DCP, color, 98 min. 
DCP source: Swank

An exceptionally thrilling fantasy geared towards children, How to Train Your Dragon reunites Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders—the duo behind Disney’s Lilo & Stitch—for another tale of man and beast. Set on a Viking island “twelve days North of hopeless, and a few degrees South of freezing to death” that pits its human inhabitants against the dragons who steal their livestock, the story concerns Hiccup, the village chieftain’s gawky son, who stumbles upon a talent to train the fearsome creatures. Despite attempts by Hiccup and Toothless (the wide-eyed dragon with whom he develops a feline domesticity) to bridge the two warring populations, the island is plunged into battle scenes Roger Ebert described as “storyboarded like a World War I dogfight, with swoops, climbs and narrowly missed collisions with craggy peaks.” Though a far cry from the Hawaiian tranquility of Lilo & Stitch, DeBlois and Sanders once again demonstrate a passion for using the island as a battleground for competing interests, where communication and compassion lead to harmony. Of particular interest is how the film treats its many disabled characters: not with pity or grief, but dignity and respect.