227. Violet Evergarden: The Movie; movie review

 

 

VIOLET EVERGARDEN - THE MOVIE

Cert 12A

140 mins

BBFC advice: Contains  infrequent moderate violence, bloody images, upsetting scenes

I just adore the style of Japanese animation and Violet Evergarden was the first played on our new 65-inch telly so I was in love with it all the more.

But there is more to this than mere presentation - it lures its audience with an unusual, compelling story of loyalty and romance.

And, yes, in answer to a question posed by my son who is also an anime fan, it does stand alone as a movie.

I can confirm this because I have never watched the television series.

Taichi Ishidate's film is the sequel to the series and tells the final chapter in the story of the title character - a former child soldier.

In peacetime, she became a memory doll - a ghostwriter who writes letters for clients, putting their feelings into words and even continuing long after they have died.

Apparently, the film ties up unanswered questions, particularly around the fate of Major Gilbert Bougainvillea (voiced by Daisuke Namikawa) who gave Violet her name.

I watched it with fresh eyes and was entranced by the young woman (Yui Ishikawa) whose dedication to her clients is quiet but steadfast.

Her story is told in retrospect by a young woman whose grandmother has died and had birthday letters, written by Violet, delivered throughout her life.

The movie then moves to Violet's own narrative, with a quick summary of the war and her subsequent life working as the aforementioned doll.

There is a gentle rivalry and a couple of those with a glad-eye towards her but she remains unaffected, concentrating on her writing and wondering what happened to the major who had declared his love for her.

I was rather taken with her connection to a boy with terminal illness and, eventually, her surprising discoveries about her beau.

But more than anything I loved the beauty of this movie. The Japanese still do animation like nobody else. It looks truly amazing.

Reasons to watch: Engaging story and superb animation

Reasons to avoid: Will be too wispy for some

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 8/10

Did you know? The Violet Evergarden series of books came into existence because of a contest. It won the grand prize and it didn’t take long after that for things to start moving at a very rapid pace with a TV series and film.

The final word. Taichi Ishidate: "When talks of a sequel came up, I actually said that there was nothing else I wanted to do. But when I read the plot that the scriptwriter Reiko Yoshida wrote, it was so believable that I was spurred to action. I came to think that it was fine for Gilbert to live." Anime News Network

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