'Call Me Chihiro' movie review: More than sum of its parts
In Call Me Chihiro, the titular character tells her former boss that she is at the bottom of the sea. He says, “Stay there as long as you need to and float back.” It’s a delicate touch to soothe a woman’s suffering. The vulnerability of Chihiro, a former sex worker who now works at a bento shop, comes through in mirrored nuance.
Call Me Chihiro is a slice-of-life drama that captures the life of a woman who is ostracised for her profession, but finds peace through interactions with strangers—like a meal with a homeless man on a lonely night. It is the randomness of her conversations that comes to her rescue, and at the same time allows the audience to understand the human condition. She may be at the bottom of the sea, but her fleeting interactions with people allow her to slowly float up to the top.
The makers have created the lead character as a sum of all the people she comes in contact with. Even as she tolerates the leery customers at the bento shop with a smile, she also turns out to be an example of redemption for meek school girl, Kuniko, who comes from a patriarchal household. In another instance, the film shows Chihiro wondering if her former boss could be her father because he made no sexual advances on her. It is through these slow-moving snapshots, micro-tales if you will, that the film shines.
In a way, the film is about learning to lead a life without shackles. It reminds us how even the people who feel most judged, deserve the opportunity of letting their guard down and live a little. The cinematography is a definite positive. The frames allow the film to breathe, placing the viewers in the idyllic seaside village. The complementing writing that provides the characters with a definitive arc is a bonus.
While there’s value in the film’s deliberate portrait of Chihiro, the slow pace is a dampener. A little too much silence results in the narrative plateauing more often than required. Such missteps notwithstanding, Call Me Chihiro feels like a warm hug from a stranger, especially for someone who is not in the highest
of their spirits.