The Girl Who Leapt Through Time — The Girl Who Leapt Through Time(Blu Ray)
Time travel movies can often be quite wacky & wild affairs; here from the early 80’s is a Japanese picture that (largely) takes a sweeter, more laid-back, and languid take on the form.The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is, at its heart, a coming-of-age/ low key Romantic drama- it regards sixteen-year-old Kazuko, played by 80’s J-pop star Tomoyo Harada, who has an accident while tidying up the school lab, after which she can seemingly time travel. Here from Cult Epics is a Region A Blu-ray release of the film, taking in a new 4k scan, a commentary track, and a mix of new/ old extras.
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (aka Toki O Kakeru Shôjo) is from the year 1983. It was based on a 1967 novel of the same name by Yasutaka Tsutsui, which over the years has been made into both live-action and animated versions.
It was directed/ co-written for the screen by Onomichi, Hiroshima Prefecture born Nobuhiko Ōbayashi. Who between the forties and the late 2010’s had a total of seventy-nine directing credits- forty-nine of these are features, with the others taking in shorts and TV credits- his feature lengths take the likes of tripped-out horror/ dark comedy House (1977), romantic drama His Motorbike, Her Island (1986)- which also got a recent-ish release on Cult Epics. Tragic comedy Goodbye for Tomorrow (1995), and surreal / slowly paced war drama Hanagatami (2017).
So, the film is set in a small Japanese town and focuses on Kazuko (Harada), a rather timid/ quiet teen with a short boyish haircut. She is seemingly in her last year of school, having a few mainly male friends, taking in Kazuo Fukamachi (Ryôichi Takayanagi), who lives with his grandparents, growing different types of flowers in their large greenhouse. And Goro Horikawa (Toshinori Omi), who is focused on taking over the soy sauce business his dead father ran.
Near the beginning of the film, Kazuko is tasked with cleaning up/ shut up the school's lab; she seemingly knocks over a glass test tube and smells lavender, to promptly pass out. After she comes around, she starts noticing slight jumps in time- but as the film goes on these get larger- with her seemingly living a day over twice and having premonition of events to come.
As I mentioned in my opening, it’s a very languid film- been largely a coming-of-age picture, with a sweet lulling tone- this is enhanced even more by the film score, which largely revolves around sentimental string music. The time-travel element doesn’t fully start until around midway through the films one hour and forty minutes runtime, and even then, it’s very subtle/ low-key…It only fully kicks in/ becomes quite dizzying/ rapid cut bound in the last twenty or so minutes.
Harada is a believable lead- seeming very innocent/reserved- the supporting cast is largely good to fine too. There’s no doubt about it The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is a fairly original take on the time-travelling form, and if you also like sweet coming- of-age dramas- it’s most certainly worth a look.
The region A Blu-ray features a 4K scan- this is full of clarity and depth, with the low-key visual effects really shining. The mix of the Japanese dialogue and often swooning/ soaring score is well balanced. With clear and crisp subtitles.
On the extras side, we have a few new things. First is a commentary by Obayashi Scholar Alex Pratt- this is extremely well researched- full of detail & observation, though Pratt is a little dry/ droning in places. He starts by commenting on the blue screen stars, and how director Nobuhiko often plays with the format of film. He introduces the three leads, as well as supporting cast members- some who went on to appear in the director's other films. He talks about how the use of cut shots suggests jarring cuts suggest small time jumps. He discusses locations and soundstages. He touches on the use of smoke throughout the film, and how it links into the time themes. Later on, they discuss why the lead actress had to wear a certain type of clogs, and more. It’s certainly worth a play track.
Otherwise, on the new side we have the following: A Movie: Obayashi’s Cinematic Life - Visual essay by Max Robinson (23.39). Now and Then, Here and There: Onomichi Pt. 2 - Visual essay by Alex Pratt (16.28).
And on the archive side we have: A 2015 Conversation with Nobuhiko Obayashi (21.56) Japan Society NY. Director Nobuhiko Obayashi (24.28). The Tomoyo Harada Story(10.32 ).Toki O Kaker Shojo music video, Theatrical Trailers.
The finished release comes with a slip case, and inside we a twenty-four-page glossy/colourful inlay booklet.
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time certainly takes a sweeter, more mellow take on the time-travelling form, all wrapped in an engaging enough teen romance/ coming of age drama. This Cult Epics release features a clean & crisp scan, and a nice selection of extras.