[ONLY YESTERDAY opens
in Akron on Friday March 4th at the Nightlight Cinema and in Cleveland on
Friday March 11th at the Cedar Lee Theatre.]
Review (sort of) by Bob Ignizio

This feature
length animated film from Japan’s Studio Ghibli was a hit in its country of
origin on its initial release in 1991, but is only now making its way
stateside. The story, in which a
young woman reminisces about her fifth grade self, is genuine and the sort of
thing the movies probably need more of. But the way it unfolds on screen is
painfully slow paced and, to a large degree, lacking in visual interest. There
are one or two moments in which the medium of animation is used in a way that
might not have worked as well with live actors, but not enough to make up for
what a flesh and blood cast could have brought to the proceedings.
On the plus side, there are a number of little moments
throughout that feel very real and authentic and relatable. That’s something we
don’t get nearly enough of in modern films, particularly ones centered on
female characters. And of course, the animation is of the same high quality one
expects from Studio Ghibli. There’s just nothing about it to really grab you.
You often hear people say that a movie “isn’t for everyone.”
Well, no movie is truly “for everyone”, no matter how hard some try. That’s
why, despite my personal reaction, I feel it’s important to let people who
might be more receptive to ONLY
YESTERDAY than I was know that it is going to be playing. (No star rating
since I copped out and didn’t finish the movie).
For you anime purists, it bears mentioning that Akron's Nightlight Cinema is showing the film in both its original Japanese language version with subtitles, and in an English dubbed version featuring the voices of Daisy Ridley and Dev Patel. All shows before 8:00pm are the new English-language version, and all shows after 8:00pm are the
original Japanese version with English subtitles.
As far as I can tell, the Cedar Lee is only showing the English language version.
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