The Best Animated Feature "Your Color" at the 26th Shanghai International Film Festival Golden Goblet Awards is a story about a young girl with color and music as the main themes. It has no ups and downs in plot or thrilling scenes. With simple dialogues and warm details outlined by the "daily style" brushstrokes, it completes the growth narrative of "painful youth".
Poster for the movie 'Your Color'
For the dreamy combination of "Yamada Shoko (director)+Niuwei Xianfu (music director)+Yoshida Lingzi (screenwriter)", the majority of anime fans are no strangers. This time, the three of them have successfully collaborated on original animated films such as "The Tale of the Heike", "The Shape of Sound", and "Leeds and the Bluebird", and have once again released the original animated film "Your Voice". The work continues Yamada Shoko's consistent "youthful route", with outstanding authorship. However, compared to "The Shape of Sound" which explores "campus bullying" and questions the meaning of life, "Your Color" is more light and airy; Compared to 'Leeds and the Bluebird' which focuses on the characters' inner emotions, 'Your Color' is more unrestrained. On the 15th anniversary of director Yamada's famous work "Light Music Girl", "Your Color" once again uses warm and humorous "girl like" and "everyday" characteristics, with bright visuals, rhythmic music, and light hearted and humorous plots, to move and delight the audience, even making them laugh heartily.
What deeply attracts me is your color
The protagonist of the film, Yuko Nippori, attends a church school and has the ability to see people's "colors". The young girl Yuki Naganaga concealed her withdrawal from school from her grandmother and chose to escape. Young man Yingping Louis gave up his music dream in order to live up to his family's expectations. Under the cohesion of the convex, the three formed a band and composed a youthful melody of friendship and ambiguous emotions.
The idea of "color" was proposed by Shangzi Yamada himself, set to present bright colors for minors, which will fade into stable gold as adults. In Chuzi's eyes, Jimei is a dreamy blue, mysterious and melancholic; Louis is a bright green, peaceful yet fragile; Colors reveal the distinct personalities and flaws of characters, serving as a symbol of the "self" of underage individuals. The "color change" during the growth process metaphorically represents the "coming of age ceremony" that erodes the "self" - the "color" of adults is stable and solemn, but forever loses that high saturation of youthful radiance.
Director Shangko Yamada of 'Your Color'
If I could see myself,
What color will it be
This is the question raised by the protagonist at the beginning, the ultimate suspense of the film, and the voice of countless young people who cannot see themselves clearly and lack confidence. In the film, all three protagonists are confused about their life direction, but they trust and care deeply about their partners. With the guidance and help of others, each of them eventually finds their own path. At the end of the film, the convex finally saw her own red color in the sunshine, completing her self discovery and self-identity.
Our colors
The setting of color mixing and changing colors in the film cleverly portrays the "chemical interaction" between characters. For example, mixing green and blue to form cyan, mixing the three primary colors to obtain pure white, and so on. This setting echoes the most beloved expression theme of Yamada Shoko's animation - communication between people. It is the fusion of people that creates the colorful world, and each individual with a single color can find their own existence in the colorful world, witnessing the beauty created by themselves and others.
Color "is not only the theme intention and narrative strategy of" Your Color ", but also a prominent highlight of the film's visual expression. Yamada Shangzi prefers a rich and bright color style, and "Your Color" takes "color" to the extreme, from the use of the three primary colors on the poster, to the pink and blue tones of the convex, the yellow and green tones of the lush trees, the blue and green tones of the seaside morning, the pink and purple tones of dusk, to the dim yellow lights in the old bookstore, and the golden sunshine at noon... The film can be called a brilliant color poem.
Still from the movie 'Your Color'
How about singing out the universe in your heart with your voice
Music is another important element of the film. As Yamada mentioned in an interview, because "music" can break down barriers between people and bring them closer together, he came up with the idea of writing a story about a high school student playing in a band - in fact, since "Light Music Girl", "Girl Band" has always been the director's favorite theme. It is worth mentioning that the three members of the band in the film are all beginners in musical instruments. The theme song and insert melody of the movie are simple and clear, not only infectious and easy to recite, but also echoing the themes of "if you like it, you should say it" and "if you think of it, do it".
Accept what I cannot change
Although the theme of the movie does not lose its sentimental element, the story does not immerse itself in the sadness of reminiscing about youth. Instead, through cheerful characters, humorous plots, and warm details, it creates a cheerful, lively, and heartwarming atmosphere. As Niebuhr's prayer repeatedly appears in the film: 'God, grant me peace to accept what I cannot change.' Since the pains of growth are inevitable, it is better to accept them calmly and even sing joyfully.
A masterpiece of animation that combines artistic and commercial elements, igniting and healing. You can see yourself in every character. A youthful interpretation of rock spirit. An animated party of color and music. The most enjoyable memory of youth
During the screening of 'Your Color' at the Shanghai International Film Festival, the response was enthusiastic. The film presents a hidden and brilliant youthful color, highlighting the charm of Japanese "everyday" girl anime and showcasing the style of the new generation of Japanese animation directors in the "post Miyazaki Hayao era".
