Mimi wo sumaseba (Si tu tends l'oreille)

Whisper of the Heart is a 1995 Studio Ghibli film and the only film to be directed by Yoshifumi Kondo before his untimely death. Slated to be both Miyazki's and Takahata's successor, Kondo shows his skill as he successfully lives up to his would-be title. Whisper of the Heart is a fun and light-hearted coming-of-age story that has you smiling from start to finish. The film does a great job of making you love all of the characters, cheering them on each step of the way.Shizuku Tsukisma is a junior high school student who does what most girls her age do. She reads books in her spare time, talks about boys with her best friend, and spends most of her time making up songs, or adapting them from older westerns and singing them (These are things normal girls do...right?). The whole film revolves around the old John Denver song "Take me Home, Country Roads," and throughout the film Shizuku is trying to adapt the lyrics to help express her feelings for her junior high graduation.Shizuku also reads a lot and as a result of this, checks out many books from the library. Eventually, she starts to notice a pattern in the books she checks out: the have all been checked out by the same person before her. This sends Shizuku in search for the seemingly elusive Seiji Amasawa, and sets the story for our film.In May 2012, the North American blu-ray version of Whisper of the Heart was released alongside Castle in the Sky and the Secret World of Arrietty. The movie came shipped from Amazon in great condition, along with the sleeve cover (no bends or tears, the movie was shipped in a box with giant bubble wrap). Inside the packaging you have your standard bluray on one side, DVD on the other, as well as paperwork for a code to Disney Movie Rewards (something I would HIGHLY recommend you start taking advantage of. Signing up is free, and if you buy enough Disney movies, you might as well reap the full the benefits, especially at 35+ bucks a pop, MSRP).The English dub of Whisper of the Heart is one of the best I've heard and is just as enjoyable as the original audio to me. If you are, however, a stickler for the Japanese audio, the good thing about this release is that it comes with both a verbatim subtitle track of the English version, as well as the original translation subtitle track, so you get to choose.The only thing that I had a real problem with was the cover art. The Japanese releases on these films got way cooler, exclusive artwork, which would have been great, but of course that's not how these things go. Overall, I am very happy with this purchase, and I'm glad I own this timeless classic. I give the film a 5/5.Good luck getting Country Road out of your head! It'll be stuck in there for days after each time you watch this film.

I am a big Hayao Miyazaki fan (Spirited Away is one of my favorite movies of all time), and I thrive on his work- the look, the atmosphere, the "heart" of his characters. Note that I watched this in Japanese with English subtitles (not English captions for the hearing impaired, that's the American reworking of the dialogue). As an aside I cannot bear what Disney/Americans do to Miyazaki dialogue, ruin it every time (for me, anyway). But it's possible the English-dialogue version was somewhat better (I very much doubt it). I purchased the DVD to complete my Miyazaki collection. I love the look, the sound, the essential purity and goodness of Miyazaki's films, so after I got used to the fact that it wasn't a particularly magical or metaphysical film, like Spirited Away, I delighted in it (after several viewings). It's quiet, episodic, full of small happenings with big import.***SPOILER ALERT*** There's gorgeous animation, atmospheric music, magical thinking, a mysterious cat, memorable people (e.g., an old craftsman), an interesting family dynamic, a sense that some things are preordained, and the oriental sensibility of the universe being animistic, alive- all very subtle. Will she study for exams or go to the library and check out extracurricular books? Does she like an enigmatic boy she keeps seeing around? Who does this strange cat belong to? The film is strikingly beautiful. I reveled in Shizuku's quest for meaning and purpose in life, in the notion of a young girl seeking a test (a la A Man Called Horse, perhaps) of her mettle, her abilities, along with her strength of character (it's subtle and underplayed though).This has mostly to do with the inner life of a junior high school girl, and I think that girls of that age and younger may find it interesting and appealing but wonder if boys and men, or older girls and women will. Unless you are ultra-sensitive and revel in slow-moving, episodic films, thrive on eye candy, and are especially moved by a young girl being treated as very important in the scheme of things, you might rent it or watch it online before buying. I liked it better with each viewing. I also recommend Spirited Away or Song of the Sea, both splendid in every way.P.S. I read other reviews after writing this, and many of the negative ones comment on disrespect towards parents and adults- there is NONE of that in the Japanese language version with English subtitles.

Un film dall'ambientazione magica, una storia delicata di amori adolescenziali, ma non per questo meno profondi, questo "I sospiri del mio cuore" costituisce, a mio giudizio, la summa dello stile minimalistico e, nel contempo, spettacolare dello Studio Ghibli. Una magia per gli occhi e il cuore. Da avere.

Que peli encantadora!

This is probably my favorite Ghibli movie and I've seen most of them by now. I wasn't sure I'd enjoy it as much as the art style is older and I'm rather picky when it comes to animations, but the story swept me away. This is a great film to watch if you're looking to both kick back and relax or be inspired. So glad I have it in my collection~

英語学習のために購入しました。北米版はセリフと字幕がほぼ一致するのですが、最初に字幕を適切に設定しないとぜんぜん違うということになります。結構悩みました。

The film itself is my favourite Studio Ghibli film and dare I say; my favourite anime feature movie. I wont go into detail as Mohd Jafar (most helpful reviewer on this film) describes why this film is a subtle masterpiece. It just spoke to me personally and shouldn't be missed by any fan of film to be honest.Regarding the blu ray edition of this movie and I can safely say this is the superior format to watch the film on, 100%. Colours are more vibrant and the outlines of everything is clearer. So if you haven't got a blu ray player I advise to just get this 'combo edition' as you get both the DVD and the Blu Ray versions of this film.The dub of this film is quite adequate, and if you are planning to show this to younger audiences it's alright. For me though, I wish they didn't always go straight to American actors though. But in my opinion, and this goes for almost all anime I've watched so far (exceptions - Spirited Away, Castle in The Sky) - the original Japanese dialogue (with English subtitles) is always best. There are two reasons for this, both apply strongly to this film;1. It's the original actors voicing the original script. This means all the subtle nuances like expressions, mannerisms etc etc fit and make sense. In this film, the Japanese cast fit and give voices to all the characters perfectly.2. This might just be me; But when watching any subtitled foreign film I cast myself into the film too. Subtitles can't give an EXACT replication of what has been said/being said 100% of the time (Of course it is very accurate and true to the translation/scene) This is fundamentally down to how languages are just different from one another. This is not a bad thing in my opinion, as I read the text, normally slightly ahead of audio; I think about what's just been said, or is currently occurring and use my imagination slightly, putting my own words/emotions in gear for the scene. A bit like a book.One negative about the overall package is that the 'Special Features' are a bit lackluster. Mainly because there are no interviews with the director, or anyone who had something to do with making the film. Only a short video with the dub actors giving their opinion on voice acting in general :S The storyboards and extra artwork is nice, but a bit niche.Anyway, got a bit sidetracked there. Buy this film! I felt I needed to rate this 5/5 so I did this review just to do that. It's very sad the director of this film, Yoshifumi Kondo, passed away a few years after this released. Miyasaki was right to put him in charge of it and to have him lined up in 1st place to take reign of the Studio.