First of all, happy new year! It's 2017, whoo! Well...given the state of current events in America, it's debatable how much the 'happy' part applies, but it is a new year. So, congratulations on making it through 2016, the five or so people who will read this!
Second of all, to get to my point, I didn't do too much over the holiday. I'm a creature of habit and comfort, and I don't step out of my comfort zone all that often. I've got no crazy stories to share or interesting insights to offer. But one thing I have done a lot of is watch TV. Coming home for winter break, there was a lot I wanted to watch and catch up on, and the holidays have seen to it that various movies and TV shows have fallen into my family's lap. With the leisure time vacation has afforded us (mostly me, with my month-long break), we've been watching quite a bit. Exciting and original, I know!
One of the movies that my family watched was a Japanese animated movie called "Wolf Children," directed by Hosoda Mamoru. I saw it one day in a store, and being on something of an anime kick, I decided I'd buy it, hoping to explore new horizons by watching different genres. Indeed, "Wolf Children" is a slice-of-life movie, following a young woman named Hana as she tries to raise two children on her own. It sounds pretty cliché when I put it that way, so let me drop the bomb: the movie starts out showing how she met the children's father, an unnamed man who comes from an ancient family capable of transforming into wolves. Sadly, he dies, and the movie transitions into the story of her raising her children, also werewolves: her daughter, Yuki (named for the Japanese word for snow, as it was snowing when she was born), and her son, Ame (named for the Japanese word for rain for the same reason. Not very creative, I know). Unlike the popular werewolf image of the West, these wolf-people don't need the full moon to transform, and they aren't bloodthirsty killers. They're just people who can become wolves, retaining their human consciousness as they do so.
As I've gotten older, I've developed an appreciation for stories that focus on people being people. While I love sci-fi and fantasy, and far-fetched plots of kings, ancient civilizations, and world-saving shenanigans, their characters exist in a fantastic world and are often so caught up in doing fantastic things that they don't feel real. Slice-of-life stories such as "Wolf Children" have no real plot beyond the lives of the characters, and when done right it can make the characters feel human, relatable, and sympathetic. They do things that real humans do everyday, and their triumphs and failures more closely mirror our own. "Wolf Children" manages to do this very well. The elements of fantasy don't outshine the reality; watching Hana struggle to raise her children, both humans and wolves, is both an awe-inspiring and tragic to watch. The difficulties of single parenthood, and of parenthood in general, come across very powerfully, and Hana's persistence, intelligence, and kindness in caring for Yuki and Ame is sure to impress. Even as a 19-year old with no idea of the difficulties of parenthood, I marveled at Hana's strength as she overcame obstacles just as daunting as any magic ring or evil empire.
And of course, there's very little that's more entertaining than watching cute kids who can turn into cute animals doing cute things. It's the best as both worlds, as Ame and Yuki, for the first half of the movie, are both animal babies and human babies. Hana's various adventures with Yuki and Ame as they explore the world they live in, as children and wolves, are sweet in the best kind of way!
The children also undergo their own journeys, as they struggle with how to live their lives. One theme that runs throughout the movie is the idea of Ame and Yuki trying to find how they'd rather live: as humans or as wolves. Their own experiences growing up influence the choices they make as they get older, and eventually, each one finds the road they want to go down. I won't spoil what choices they make, but the movie takes its time establishing their characters and fleshing out how they came to make the decisions they make. The theme of raising children runs parallel to the theme of growing up and trying to find one's place in the world as a child.
"Wolf Children" has a straightforward plot, carried by the strength of the characters and their individual journeys. It's a movie that runs almost solely on heart, eschewing complexity and intrigue of story for a powerful emotional connection to the characters. And while great stories are always welcome, those stories are always experienced through people, or at least beings with a human consciousness, with thoughts and feelings just like the humans of reality. If the characters aren't engaging, there's no point in telling a story. The greatest stories, in my humble opinion, are always carried by strong characters. And "Wolf Children" delivers on that count. Hana, Ame, Yuki, and their family relationship left a great impact on me, even long after the movie ended.
Well, that's that! I highly recommend this movie. And if you need any more incentive:
