The protagonist Anna is a withdrawn and sensitive outsider. She has low self-esteem and loneliness and is afraid of socializing. Be polite to her adoptive mother, and her heart is full of estrangement.
Because of her asthma, she was sent to a beautiful seaside town in Sapporo, Hokkaido. There is a long-abandoned old western-style mansion in front of the wetlands there. Anna is familiar with it and is full of interest and curiosity.
The magic is that Anna always sees that the house is brightly lit, and an old woman is brushing the hair of a blond girl roughly by the window.
There she later met Mani, the same girl in her dreams. They met, knew each other, exchanged secrets and life experiences in their hearts. It turned out that they were all lonely poor people. They become each other's favorite friends. Later, Mani had to leave forever, and Annie thought with hatred and sadness that Mani abandoned herself.
Ayaka, the new owner of the mansion, found Mani's diary in the room. The contents of the diary were exactly the same as what Anna had experienced. It's just that there is no Anna in the whole diary, but there is a boy from beginning to end - Kazuhiko.
Caixiang also showed Anna a painting, the painting was the mansion, and on the back there was a gift from Hisako to Mani. (Kyuko is the woman Anna always meets in her sketches)
So the two went to Hisako together, who told them the full sad story about Mani. Although Mani was born in a wealthy family, he has noble parents and luxurious parties. However, because his parents are often absent, and he is bullied by domestic servants, he becomes a lonely person. Kazuhiko is that childhood sweetheart, and he always supports and cares for Mani. Later, they got married and soon gave birth to a child, Erimi, and finally had a warm and happy family.
But soon after, Kazuhiko fell ill and died. Erimi also became rebellious and independent and ran away from home when she was 12 years old. Later, she married a boy and had children. However, it didn't take long for the couple to have a car accident, leaving a baby and orphaned.
Mani raised this granddaughter alone, giving her full love and care. But not long after, because of multiple blows, Mani also fell ill and died. The orphan was adopted. She is the heroine Anna, and Mani is her grandmother.
Knowing that Mani's departure was not abandonment, but helplessness, Annie's grief and anger were relieved. She knew that Mani loved her deeply, so the girl was healed by love, no longer paranoid and withdrawn, and reconciled with her adoptive mother.
The whole film is beautiful and ethereal, lightly sad and full of magic and warmth. Regarding the strange relationship between Anna and Mani in the past, many people mistakenly think that it is Lily. Later, Mani has been called Anna Kazuhiko all the time, which is easy to make people look confused.
In fact, about the magical episodes of Xing Nai meeting Mani, the grandmother once told Xing Na about her own experience. It's just that Anna forgot. When I saw the mansion, my subconscious memory kept popping up. Xing Nai dreamed of Mani, but she didn't know it was her grandmother, so in the dream they were confidant's best friends and loved each other deeply. Why is Mani called Anna Kazuhiko all the time? Because Anna was dreaming about her grandmother's experience. Dreams and subconsciousness are always full of confusion and confusion, so Anna is Anna for a while, and Kazuhiko for a while. But Mani has always been the Mani who loved her but had to leave in the end.
At first glance, the storyline is messy and confusing, but upon closer inspection, you can see that this is a film about family affection and love, loneliness and autism, and about psychology, subconsciousness, and spiritual redemption. Overall, it's a touching, healing and magical story that is worth watching.
View more about When Marnie Was There reviews
