Only Yesterday

Only Yesterday – Taeko, a 27 year old office worker from Tokyo, spends her vacation getting away from it all by helping a farming community in the countryside. As she grows closer to Toshio, she remembers key moments from her childhood. Has she stayed true to her 10 year old self, or has life driven her off her path? As she harvests crops, Taeko must rediscover her happiness for life before her vacation comes to end.

Only Yesterday (1991) – Director: Isao Takahata

Source by Fair Use: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2367032

Rating: PG

Running Length: 118 mins

Starring: Daisy Ridley, Dev Patel, Alison Fernandez, Ashley Eckstein (English Dub)

Genre: Romance / Drama

REVIEW: ‘ONLY YESTERDAY’

Are you true to what you promised you’d be as a child? ‘Only Yesterday’ is set in 1982 and jumps between this time frame and the 60s. In the ‘present day’, 27-year-old single Tokyo office worker Taeko Okajima spends her vacation in the countryside to help with the safflower harvest. Her listlessness reminds her of her childhood and the movie flashes back to stand out memories from her 10 year old self, such as: finding out a boy liked her, dealing with a mother who couldn’t see past her academic failings, and the time her father struck her.

‘Only Yesterday’ is definitely a movie of two halves. With so much time spent in flashbacks for the first hour the movie loses some of adult Taeko’s characterisation. It isn’t until the second half that her motivations synchronise so that she can reminisce on how her adult self is almost a betrayal of her childhood dreams. The movie is littered with examples of 10 year old Taeko having the fight knocked out of her, and slowly bowing her head in punctured submission.

Wonky pacing aside, ‘Only Yesterday’ is a gorgeous meshing of styles. The present day is richly detailed and particular effort was made on the facial expressions (which has the side effect of ageing poor 27 year old Taeko whenever she smiles!). The past uses a washed out palette that deliberately evokes how memories work: as snapshots with the unnecessary details fading out from the edges of the frame, and embellished with the power of emotion. 10-year-old Taeko blissfully running into the sky up invisible stairs and floating home because of a conversation with an attractive boy is something we can all relate to within our own memories.

Takahata depicts a very adult tale of a girl who was worn down by distant parenting, chattering sisters, and crushed dreams until, in adulthood, she has unknowingly settled for a life unfulfilled. The burgeoning romance between her and young farmer Toshio is sweet but understated as it isn’t the central point. Instead, this connection, maybe the first ‘real’ one Taeko has had, revitalises her youthful dreams. As an adult, ‘Only Yesterday’ is a movie to wrap yourself around and sink into, remembering how things once were. However, by nature of not having an adulthood to compare with, sadly most children are unlikely to find much to connect with in this beautiful movie.

CONTENT: IS ‘ONLY YESTERDAY’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

10 year old Taeko’s mother criticises her for not eating her onions. Taeko was proud to have written a good essay but her mother says “I’d rather you were a good eater than a good essay writer.” Taeko looks down, upset.

Taeko goes on a trip with her grandmother to a place with lots of hot spring baths. She goes to each one in quick succession by herself and is naked for this time. There is no ‘naked detail’ (i.e. seen fully naked  she has no visible ‘bottom’ lines and no nipples). This lasts around 30 seconds and results in her fainting due to going to too many hot baths at once. She passes out into the water and the scene cuts away with adult Taeko’s voiceover saying “I almost drowned.”

Taeko’s sister is described as very fashion conscious and one of the first to wear a mini skirt (this part is set in the 60s). The voiceover states she figured out there was a ‘right way’ to wear it ‘to avoid the wrong kind of stares.’ As this is said she is shown from the back in a shot that consists entirely of her skirt, before the camera cuts to a zoomed out shot where she holds a large canvas behind her so as to cover herself up when ascending the escalator.

It is very subtly implied that Taeko’s other sister, Yaeko, is gay. She is shown in her bedroom admiring a photo of an actress and becomes very embarrassed when 10 year old Taeko walks in, yelling that she should knock before coming in. The voiceover states that Taeko knew she was ‘crazy about some Takarazuka actress’. Takarazuka actresses are an all female revue troupe around which has been an image of homosexuality, although obviously this is not likely to be common knowledge for non-Japanese children!

The school children discuss rules for them to adhere to. When arguing about the proper etiquette for not running in the halls because people could be knocked over, one boy jokes to a plus sized girl that if anyone ran into her they would just bounce off. She isn’t happy at the joke and it cuts away without further comment.

Shortly after the baseball game scene there is a long section of the movie that deals with girls going through puberty and, specifically, getting their period. The girls all sit in an assembly where a woman explains that as they get older they will “have babies” and that their bodies will go through changes so that they can do this. Taeko talks to a friend who says she already knew this because she is an early developer,

The girls decide to go buy sanitary products and say that it is nothing to be embarrassed about. However, the boys are confused and ask why the girls are buying ‘some kind of special underpants from the nurse’? Later, the girls are angry at one of their friends for (off camera) telling the boys about periods. They say, “You can’t tell stuff like that to boys! It’s a secret just for girls!”

A boy slides along the floor and lifts up a girl’s skirt shouting, “panties!”. The girls shout “pervert!” after him. The voice over states that looking up skirts became “the rage” and that “periods became an obsession”. The boys start using it as a punchline to every joke.

Taeko talks to her friend who told the boys about periods. She says that she has been getting her period a while ago and that she told the boys that whenever she misses P.E. / gym class it’s really because she is on her period. Taeko is distraught because she says that now the boys will think that if any girl misses any P.E. class for any reason then it will be because they are on their period.

Taeko gets sick with a cold but doesn’t want to miss P.E. because the boys will think she is on her period. However, she gets worse and sits out with her friend who confesses that she is on her period. Her friend says that being on your period isn’t a sickness and she could still play but her mother doesn’t want her to. The class are playing dodgeball and when the ball goes to Taeko and her friend a boy runs up shouting that they shouldn’t touch it because he doesn’t want to ‘catch a period’. Taeko’s friend laughs after and thinks that was a stupid thing to say but Taeko is mortified. After, they take out a bin and a boy laughs and yells that they are the “period pair”. Taeko’s friend laughs and later explains that her mother said that it is nothing to be ashamed about.

There is a long scene where 10 year old Taeko bickers with her family. She argues about wanting a purse and gets increasingly sulky. She refuses to join the family in leaving the house to go to a Chinese restaurant. As they leave without her she suddenly changes her mind and runs outside without shoes on, getting her socks dirty. Her father grabs her by the coat and slaps her hard across the face. Everyone is shocked and Taeko collapses back onto the house, crying. Adult Taeko says that her father never struck her again, and that her mother gave her a cold towel to press against her face because her cheek swelled up.

Taeko receives a terrible score on her maths exam and her mother instructs her sister to teach her. Taeko’s sister and mother go downstairs, arguing about Taeko’s inability to do simple sums. This results in Taeko coming down the stairs as her mother shouts “Taeko isn’t normal!” Her mother and sister freeze and turn around to see Taeko standing there. Her mother softens and the scene cuts to Taeko being taught by her sister. Her sister is frustrated but Taeko is no longer particularly upset. However, she later overhears the family talking about her getting ‘dumber’.

Taeko remembers a boy named Abe who was poor, always looked dirty and was aggressive with no manners. She imagines seeing him on a bridge. She says how he always picked his nose, wiped snot on his sleeve, and would threaten anyone who looked at him. She says he used bad language and was always spitting. Later we see him walk past 10 year old Taeko and he spits next to her. When he’s gone past her she walks away and spits as well, trying it out.

CAN I SEE A CLIP?

VERDICT: IS ‘ONLY YESTERDAY’ FOR KIDS?

By examining the melancholy of contrasting youthful dreams with adult compromises, it is unlikely that children will connect with the adult meditative tone of ‘Only Yesterday’. Whilst content wise there is little that is not suitable here (except perhaps a rather protracted section on girls getting their period!) we feel that children younger than 10 will likely find little to engage with in ‘Only Yesterday’. 

• Violence: 1/5 (When she is 10 years old Taeko’s father slaps her across the cheek as punishment. The scene states that he had never struck her before and would never do so again.)
• Emotional Distress: 2/5 (As a 10 year old Taeko is sometimes upset by childhood problems.)
• Fear Factor: 0/5
• Sexual Content: 1/5 (lots of talk about girls having periods and boys confusion at this.)
• Bad Language: 0/5
• Dialogue: 2/5 (Taeko is often belittled by her well meaning mother for not getting good enough grades. She argues with her sisters and is often called stupid)
• Other Notes: Deals with themes of trying to find meaning in life, coming to terms with past decisions, remembering youthful promises to yourself, escape to the country, and finding your own talents.

Words by Michael Record