This film was recommended to me as I generally a fan of Studio Ghibli films. I was warned that this one is a little strange and I am grateful for the warning.
This beautiful picture tells of a young girl named Anna (voiced in English by Hailee Steinfeld) who suffers from asthma and is frustrated by her guardian Yoriko (voiced in English by Geena Davis). Yoriko frequently worries about Anna and expresses her worry in a concerned manner not a nagging manner. In an effort to show interest, Yoriko regularly asks Anna about her day and her school. Anna misinterprets Yoriko's attention as more demanding than it truly is and more invasive than it is intended to be. After Anna has yet another asthma attack, Yoriko reluctantly sends Anna away to the country to visit relatives Setsu Oiwa (voiced in English by Grey Griffin) and Setsu's husband Kiyomasa Oiwa (voiced in English by John C. Reilly) who live near the sea/a large marsh.
The Oiwas' turn out to be rather opposite of Yoriko in that they seem to be less stifling towards Anna and they also seem to be more supportive of Anna. Anna is at first slightly puzzled by the freedom that she experiences to come and go almost as much as she pleases. When she returns from her daily adventures she is warmly welcomed and tended to by the Oiwas' without too many questions. Anna gratefully embraces the "freedom" that she gets with the Oiwas'.
The day after Anna arrives at the Oiwas' house, she views a large mansion sitting alone across from the marsh. She ventures over by walking across the marsh and finds that the mansion is empty. She is intrigued by the mansion and decides to sit in the grass for a bit.
After she falls asleep in the yard outside of the house she tries to return the way she had come. She finds that the tide has come in and she has no way to get across without swimming. Just as she is presumably about to dive in, a fisherman named Toichi rows to her with his rowboat and takes her back across the water.
Once at the Oiwas' home she finds out that Toichi is a bit a recluse so that it is special that he spent time around her. She also finds out that the house is called the Marsh house and that it is haunted.
As the summer progresses Anna makes friends with a mysterious young girl named Marnie (voiced in English by Kiernan Shipka and Taylor Autumn Bertman) who lives in the Marsh house. Marnie demands a promise of secrecy from Anna and Anna agrees.
As Anna and Marnie's friendship grows Anna finds that there is a lot of mystery surrounding Marnie. At times it seems that Marnie might not be real. Marnie sometimes disappears. At other times Marnie states that Anna disappears. Anna eventually also makes friends with a little girl who's family owns the Marsh house now and is remodeling the mansion. After befriending the little girl, Anna finds out more details about Marnie that lead to only more questions. What is the real story behind Marnie? Is she real or imaginary? If Marnie is real why is it that Anna is the only one that seems to see and interact with Marnie? The answers to these questions are surprising.
Overall the movie was beautiful as is to be expected with Studio Ghibli films. The story was well written. Great family film but given some aspects of the story, younger children will probably miss the deeper elements of this film and older children might have questions.
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