Wolf Children

Even better in the theater and the vibrance of this movie really shines. Watching again like this I really start to see the depth of this story. The big thing that really stuck with me was the incredible parallels, by the second and third act this movie does an amazing job splitting the two children into their different personalities and passions, effectively creating a fantastical dilemma for this family and being able to handle it somehow with such maturity without it even existing in the real world. Beside that the characters are just top notch. Hana is still one of my favorite protagonists and probably my favorite fictional mother, her journey and perseverance are portrayed with such charm and truly showcase motherhood at such a beautiful level and her relationship with her children is even more powerful, once again especially the snow scene, although enhanced insanely by the score it also shows the vibrance of family and on the cusp of tragedy. I will say, the introduction while noticeably weaker than the rest of the story, does a good enough job setting up and doesn’t really take anything away, I just wish they polished up the first relationship.  I also really enjoyed the inner visions of Hana, they really do a good job cementing her morals and love for her children, and while some could argue the writing weakens with her and Ame at the end you need to look past the scene and discover that wolves are different. Lastly, this movie has an insane combination of visuals and audio, one of the greatest scores I have ever heard and a great contrast of vibrance in color from joy to sadness. All around, this movie really holds up and is so goddamn good you can look past the strange nature in the blink of an eye. p.s. the snow scene is elite