
©Courtesy of GKIDS
Honestly, in recent years, Japanese anime has delivered some of the smartest and most realistic on-screen depictions of teenagers. Amongst filmmakers of any variety, few represent teen life with as much sensitivity as Naoko Yamada. She addressed school bullying in A Silent Voice : The Movie and young love in Tamako Love Story. In her latest feature, she covers almost everything else teens might care about, including music, spirituality, and the high school decisions they make that largely shape the rest of their lives. The three main characters have a lot to deal with, precisely because they are teens, but they find support and creative satisfaction making music together in Yamada’s Oscar-qualified animated feature, The Colors Within, produced by Science SARU and releasing this Friday in theaters, from GKIDS.
Totsuko is a boarding student at a private Catholic girls’ school in Nagasaki. Despite her clumsiness, she is reasonably popular with fellow students, so fortunately bullying is not a concern. Part of her extraordinary empathy comes from her unusual talent to see the color of people’s auras (for lack of a more precise term). The beauty of Kimi’s aura particularly fascinates her, so it distresses Totsuko when the day-student drops out of school.
Fittingly, Totsuko follows a cat (who often have mysterious roles to play in anime) to the used bookstore where Kimi now works. Given the unhurried pace of business, Kimi often practices on her older brother’s guitar while working behind the register. On impulse, Totsuko suggests starting a band with Kimi, at which point a fellow customer, Rui, eagerly asks to join too.
©Courtesy of GKIDS
Of the three, the tech-savvy Rui has the most musical experience. He also has access to a rehearsal space in an abandoned but well-preserved church on the coastal island, where he lives with his physician mother. According to family tradition, Rui must attend medical school, to continue her practice, caring for the small community. Consequently, he feels compelled to conceal his passion for music from his mother.
In fact, all three teens feel burdened by secrets. Kimi has yet to tell her hard-working guardian-grandmother she dropped out of school. Totsuko’s school forbids fraternization with boys. She also assumes her musical activities would be frowned upon in general, but kindly Sister Hiyako constantly surprises Totsuko with her spiritual enthusiasm for seemingly secular music.
Quite persuasively (at least for viewers), the good Sister contends whenever “music celebrates the good, the beautiful, or the truthful, it could be considered a hymn.” The same is true for songs that express the “suffering of the soul.” That is a beautiful sentiment that serves as the film’s foundational cornerstone.
Arguably, this is one of the few films that fans of CW teens programs would enjoy just as much as patrons of Christian cinema. (It is highly accessible and enjoyable for the rest of us in between, as well.) Refreshingly, Yamada and her frequent collaborator, screenwriter Reiko Yoshida, explore their young characters’ abiding interest in spiritual and artistic matters. Frankly, romance is the one thing absent from the film (but the audience should hardly notice).
©Courtesy of GKIDS
Instead, it focuses on the ways the central trio take responsibility for their decisions. In fact, the Serenity Prayer features prominently in The Colors Within, but Sister Hiyako advises Totsuko to give equal emphasis to both the things she must accept and those that she can change, rather than simply focusing on the former.
Admittedly, The Colors Within starts somewhat slowly, but Yamada’s earnest three main characters richly reward viewers’ initial patience during those early establishing scenes. Eventually, Sister Hiyako also emerges as a wonderfully understanding and compassionate figure. Yui Aragaki’s original Japanese voice-over performance stands out, even for subtitle-reliant viewers, for its appropriately soothing warmth.
The Colors Within demonstrates the advantages offered by animation to depict keenly humanist dramas. Yoshida’s story always remains totally grounded and easily relatable, but the medium allows Yamada greater expressive freedom, which further amplifies the film’s eloquence. Altogether, it looks and sounds quite lovely. Highly recommended for teens and aspiring musicians, The Colors Within opens this Friday (1/24) in theaters.
Grade: A-
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Here’s the trailer of the film.