Liz and the Blue Bird is a film that was released last year in Japan and was released in North America this year with English overdub. The film was directed by A Silent Voice Director Naoko Yamada then written by Reiko Yoshida(D.Grey-man, Bakuman.). It also belongs to the Sound! Euphonium Franchise which started as light novels that inspired manga, an anime television show, and anime film. Liz and the Blue Bird ties together the original story but stands alone as it's own film. Another film for the franchise is said to be released next year. Both America and Japan gave rave reviews for Liz and the Blue Bird despite some flaws in the story that most people noted after watching the film.
Two friends, one painfully quiet and the other very confident and outgoing play together in their high school band. Their band is preparing to perform a score based off the German story titled, Liz and the Blue Bird: A story that also happens to be one of the friend's favorite stories as a child. Both girls learn more about their friendship as their high school days come to a close. Maybe they didn't know each other as well as they thought…..
Liz and the Blue Bird will come across as very boring when you first start watching the film. Well, maybe "boring" isn't the word that I should use… Lets go with "uneventful" instead. Especially once you get pass the beautiful animation that easily transitions back and forth between a fantasy world of delicate sketch smoothed over in water colors or the school of the two friends. I never say much about a films soundtrack unless the music speaks to me. I'll tell that all the classical scores in liz and the Blue Bird do something to the animation that brings an unspoken emotion not to be described using words. All I can remember is the wonderful scene of the blue bird taking flight in the blue sky as violins weave a mix of emotions through it's strings for the viewer. These moments of the film make the whole product a masterpiece in itself, however we can't just completely ignore the fact that the film has story progression issues. The the first hour of the film feels very stagnate throughout. Both female leads interested me because they're polar opposites in personality. You think, " I can't see them being friends in real life," but the understanding the two have between one another makes this seemingly impossible friendship work. A good portion of the film deals with one character trying to figure herself out, the characters around her trying to figure her out on top of the friendship that starts to get tested around the middle of the film. While the drama doesn't pick up the pace until close to the conclusion, Liz and the Blue Bird gives small instances that lead to the second person twist as the main conflict. Many of these instances are easy to miss if you don't know what to look for, so this film is one that you should watch a second time. I found that I enjoyed the film much more the second time around. Simple stories about relatable human experiences can make for the strongest forms of storytelling.
I felt a certain envy for the more outgoing character as a person that was also more introverted in high school because I was really shy. Sometimes I still can be very shy or quiet depending on the situation. My ability to relate to the two characters was a given as it should be for anyone. What Liz and the Blue Bird teaches is that what looks good on the outside isn't always good in reality. People don't always have their shit together even if it might look like that to you. We never know what a person is going through nor how they look at the world. I loved how the character's friendship did a flip and the person who seemed to have it together didn't while the one seeming kind of lost actually had more options for the future.
Liz and the Blue Bird is a great film for people who are fans of animation. Do be aware that the story has some problems. You will enjoy the film once you understand the full picture though.
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