Although Only Yesterday was released more than three decades ago, its compassionate tale of a young woman adrift, struggling to find her life’s path, remains startlingly pertinent to many twenty-somethings today. While recent films such as Frances Ha and The Worst Person in the World cover similar territory, Only Yesterday, due to its inventive storytelling techniques, remains fresh. Through the runtime, writer-director Isao Takahata uncovers societal constraints that prevent young women from realizing their true selves.
As a co-founder and five-time director for Studio Ghibli, Takahata was renowned in Japan. Although less known worldwide than fellow co-founder Hayao Miyazaki, he pushed the boundaries of animated film in ways that his longtime colleague did not. His films were darker and experimented with form to achieve visuals closer to reality. However, this creative freedom occasionally led him into financial trouble. Takahata’s first film for Studio Ghibli, Grave of the Fireflies, was released as a double feature with Miyazaki’s My Neighbor Totoro in 1988. While the two films were marketed towards families, the brutal depiction of war in Takahata’s film turned away many viewers and produced questionable monetary results.
However, Takahata’s penchant for thinking outside the commercial landscape allowed him to make his second Ghibli film, Only Yesterday. Miyazaki was interested in the original manga, Omoide Poro Poro, but couldn’t find a suitable way to adapt its episodic format into a feature-length film. He later brought the manga to Takahata, who came up with a framing device where an adult woman travels to the countryside and reminisces about her childhood in vignettes. The film was an unexpected box office hit, resonating with adult audiences. This was largely due to Takahata’s recognition of the universality of the past defining the person one grows up to become.
Only Yesterday follows Taeko Okajima (Miki Imai), a 27-year-old woman living in Tokyo. She has a successful career, but her mother bombards her with questions of marriage. When Taeko takes a trip to the rural region of Yamagata Prefecture, she prompts a series of childhood memories. Takahata intersperses her preteen years with her journey to the countryside, creating a singular narrative that gives her room to acknowledge her past traumas. Through the process of sorting through these recollections, Taeko is able to process the repressed pain that has prevented her from making lasting connections and finding direction in life.
These flashbacks begin with minor disappointments such as having to spend the summer at home while her friends go on vacation and being let down by the taste of pineapple. They increasingly become more distressing as her father suddenly slaps her for misbehaving and denies her the opportunity to act in a university theater production without reasonable explanation. Takahata embellishes her memories, both upsetting and joyful, with surrealistic imagery, animating Taeko flying up into the sky after a conversation with her first crush. These moments seem to only ground the film further in realism as they are emotionally true and reflect Taeko’s responses to her past experiences.
Takahata aligns Taeko’s psychological progression through her childhood recollections with her growing connection to nature. By finding refuge in the countryside, she has the time and space to reflect on the social constraints that held her back, particularly those from her father. Takahata incorporates Eastern European folk music that signifies Taeko’s emotional release as she begins to accept her past hang-ups and take agency of her life. As she spends time with the local farmers and Toshio (Toshirō Yanagiba), a family acquaintance, she begins to see an array of new possibilities that exist outside of her limited perspective.
Takahata’s filmmaking is defined by his attention to the smallest of details, achieving a degree of intimacy that few directors possess. His characterization of Taeko is complex and fully realized, allowing her to be kind and vulnerable yet strong. Like all of Studio Ghibli’s films, Only Yesterday ventures to another world, but instead of colorful creatures and scenery inspired by folklore, Takahata is interested in the innerworkings of his protagonist. The film is unassuming, but with its dual narratives of the past and present as well as the element of self-discovery through nature, it forms a truly unique story that is remarkably relatable to this day.
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