"Only Yesterday" A movie review

By: Emma Webber

One of Studio Ghibli’s lesser-known films, Only Yesterday is an animated slice of life released in 1991 that tells the story of an office worker from Tokyo who’s always dreamed of living in the countryside, seamlessly blending her adult life with snippets of her childhood.

Our protagonist, Taeko, is a Tokyo native. Unlike many of her friends, she never had a hometown to visit during the holidays. As a child, she’d always dreamt of having somewhere else to call home. As an adult, she uses her vacation days off work to take trips to the countryside each year and experience the authentic life that she longed for when she was younger, and still longs for today. This year’s vacation, she’s picking safflower. Only Yesterday explores how Taeko builds a life for herself outside of the city, the relationships she forms with it, and how her childhood in Tokyo shaped her into who she is today.

Bathed in nostalgia, Only Yesterday is a quiet yet breathtaking film that explores the depth of the human experience. Although the story takes place on a small scale, it is guaranteed to touch viewers from around the world.