4.5/5 Bones
Logline: A wolf faces the scorn of his pack when he befriends a little goat.
Initial release: December 10, 2005
Language: Japanese (English Dub available)
My god, how does a film meant for preschoolers manage to play me like a pinball machine with no tilt sensitivity? One Stormy Night is a very simple story, yet somehow it wrings every emotional drop out of you. This does not have particularly stunning animation or script, but it knows what so many American children’s films get fundamentally wrong. It knows how to hold a moment instead of jingling movement in your face.
The lowdown: A goat named Mei is caught out during a thunderstorm. He loses his companions in the commotion and runs into a decrepit shack to wait out the weather. Later, he’s joined by a wolf named Gabu, but the darkness and mutual colds prevent them from identifying each other as an enemy. As the storm rages on, the two converse, and find themselves getting on. As the storm ends, they agree to meet the next day in the light. Even after discovering their physical differences, the two decide to continue meeting in secret and form a strong bond. Eventually it all goes wrong, of course.
This story could easily be very cheesy. And yet I can’t remember being so tensed up in a film since watching It Follows. Part of this is character design - Gabu looks no less intimidating and wild than the other wolves. His fur is scraggly, his eyes slit-like, his presence that of a hulking shadow against the round plumpness of Mei. He closely resembles Disney’s villainous depictions of wolves - from Peter and the Wolf, The Three Little Pigs, Lambert the Sheepish Lion and so forth. There’s no attempt to make him out as a ‘different’ kind of wolf - he freely admits to having devoured goats before, and it’s disturbing how close he comes to doing the same to Mei on multiple occasions. Only his immense self-control and curiosity keep his hunger in check. Their friendship is a constant effort of will on his part, and one of intentional naivety on Mei’s. At first it’s hard to understand how these two could share just a few words and then be so willing to go against their nature, but the film subtly reveals details in their personalities and pasts that make their companionship increasingly understandable. Later, when the goats and the wolves inevitably discover Mei and Gabu’s rendevous, their objections to the friendship are completely valid. It makes the tragedy of the whole situation that much more effective. There’s also no villain driving the plot. All the tension comes from this question - how can this friendship survive with winter coming and instincts demanding unconscionable actions? Much like Leafie/Daisy : A Hen into the Wild, this film isn’t afraid to show the harshness of nature, both that of the land and that of the characters.
One particular scene is particularly powerful. Mei awakes to see Gabu sneaking back to their sleeping place with blood on his muzzle. Gabu admits that he’s been going out at night to catch and eat field mice. Mei, who has been surprisingly understanding on the subject of his friend’s diet up till that point in the film, expresses that he will never like that part of Gabu. He turns his back on the wolf, who sits, feeling ashamed and lonely, a little ways apart.
It’s just a small scene, but undeniably impactful. There’s no giant fights or climatic falling out before a dramatic reunion, as would be the formula in many Hollywood children’s films. (In fact, the one dramatic reunion is actually subverted rather darkly.) It sums up the conflict of the piece without a single string instrument. Every bit of happiness is a stolen one, and what at first was just a conversation eventually becomes a relationship whose preservation requires immense sacrifice, perseverance, and empathy.
It’s basically the opposite of Romeo and Juliet; there, you had a story about two dunderhead teenagers infatuated with one another while their families carried on a senseless feud. Here, you have two animals forming a connection beyond their species and roles in nature, even though there are very good reasons to feud.
My one complaint would, sadly, have to be the animation. It’s very good for its budget, and I delight in the expressions and acting of the wolf and the unrelenting adorableness of Mei. Still, it often felt like not much was happening on screen. When the characters delighted in something beautiful, no real extra effort was put into the details or lighting. A lot of faces and lip flaps were also obviously cut and pasted from other scenes. Camera work was also very static, and when it did move it was often jerky and very ‘digital’. All in all, it’s still very watchable. I just wish a few more dollars had been in the budget.
I watched it in the original Japanese first but saw clips of the dub. Things are spelt out a lot more in that, oftentimes at the expense of subtlety, but it’s still a fine way to see it. I liked both but preferred the Japanese by a little bit.
This is a very sweet little find I thoroughly loved. If you’re ever in the mood for a little heartache, I hope you’ll check it out.
EDIT: I just realized I saw and reviewed this film precisely 11 years after its release. To the day. What a coincidence. Well, I guess that makes this a Christmas film. I did want to find a new classic this year, so Calloo, Callay!
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