Giovanni's Island
2014 · Movie · 102 min · ★ 7.5 · 76% critics
After World War II, a remote island becomes part of Sakhalin Oblast, and children from two different countries begin forming a cautious friendship. With language barriers and the weight of history around them, their bond grows as they keep trying to live and play in the same place, inspired by true events.
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Details
- Original title
- ジョバンニの島
- Years
- 2014
- Release date
- 2014-02-22
- Language
- Japanese
- Runtime
- 102 min
- Critic score
- 76/100
- TMDB rating
- 7.5/10 (111 votes)
About
You’ll likely like this if you enjoy heartfelt wartime aftermath stories focused on kids finding connection and staying resilient; Not for you if you want an action-heavy plot or if you’re seeking something as emotionally intense as Barefoot Gen or Grave of the Fireflies.
Pros: heartfelt childhood friendship; decent storyline; pleasant traditional tone | Cons: not top-tier anime; may feel less emotional for some
Themes
- dancing
- friendship
- island
- loss of loved one
- language barrier
- tragedy
- disaster
- post war
- anime
Awards & recognition
- CICFF Children's Jury Award — Best Animated Feature Film · 2014
- CICFF Professional Jury Award — Best Animated Feature Film · 2014
- Mainichi Film Award — Best Animation Film · 2014
- Annecy Cristal — a Feature Film · 2014 · nominated
Cast & crew
Masachika Ichimura
as Tatsuo Senou (voice)
Yukie Nakama
as Sawako (voice)
Kanako Yanagihara
as Micchan (voice)
Yusuke Santamaria
as Hideo (voice)
Kota Yokoyama
as Junpei Senou (voice)
Junya Taniai
as Kanta Senou (voice)
Saburo Kitajima
as Genzou Senou (voice)
Hiroshi Inuzuka
as Chief (voice)
Kaoru Yachigusa
as Older Sawako (voice)
Tatsuya Nakadai
as Older Junpei Senou (voice)
Directed by Mizuho Nishikubo