A film to talk about is intimidating. Because with the umpteenth sublime, masterpiece, enchanting or amazing, one realizes that in any languages there are not enough superlatives to give it justice.

From the ethereal and impressionist aesthetic rendered with a few strokes of black ink and colored frame by frame individually taken directly from the sumi-e prints of the 14th century, to the animation as minimal as immeasurably expressive (in the scenes of tension the faces deform imperceptibly but, I swear, freezing my blood for the terror they deliver), to the virtuosities that simulate a directing with hand-held live camera, to the story that perfectly blends the original 10th century folktale with modern themes of depression, patriarchal society, trauma and nostalgia for nature (this latter one a fundamental theme of all of Takahata's poetics)... Everything forces those who have seen it to talk about it to those who have not seen it, loading their expectations which - however high they may be - it is certain that they will be met. I even found a scientific article (https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.ijitee.org/wp-content/uploads/papers/v8i11S2/K103209811S219.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjhnKCn-8v2AhX48LsIHQdZAAUQFnoECCsQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3P87B_j0NgGGq8VmhiKUoK) about its mesmerizing artistic style and technique, just to stress how much could be said on this movie.

A production that lasted 8 years to create the latest film by Takahata, a genius whose sensibility we are orphans but who after (unfortunately few) works of enormous value and completely different in style (think about the richness of details of his first movies like Only Yesterday compared to this one or My Neighbors the Yamadas), he has also given us this immense artistic legacy that sticks in your eyes, indelible.