![]() ![]() Her home is gone and the only thing she has left is survival. When she wakes up, Maquia realizes that there is no going back. The place ransacked and everyone slaughtered, the only one seemingly left behind is Maquia, who only escaped due to the fact that a rampaging dragon carried her off by accident. It seems that the king of the Mezzate wants to breed lorph blood into his bloodline so that their next generation of children will be long lived like the peaceful Elvin beings. A young girl of 15 years old (which is barely a newborn for these “lorph”, as they are known), Maquia is shyly poking her nose into what it means to be one of her kind, when the nation of the Mezzate (humans riding ancient enslaved dragons) come for the females of the lorph tribe. They are blessed/cursed with incredibly long life, spanning hundreds of years, which allows them to peaceably record the passing of time and weave into intricate cloth that tells the history of the world. ![]() ![]() Maquia (Manaka Iwami) is part of a legendary race of long lived Elvin type beings who are known as the departed tribe. A classic fantasy tale on the outside, but a wide sweeping allegory on the other hand, delving into the pain and suffering of single mothers, the true meaning of love and parenthood, and elements of bigotry and the evil tendencies of man blended into one jaw dropping tale. Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms is nothing short of breathtaking though. HOWEOVER, much of her success has been with writing for dozens of Anime series, and she had only directed 3 small short films, so the leap away from TV and into feature film making is new territory for the legendary writer. I had heard absolutely fantastic things about Mari Okada’s latest film, and have always been a fan of hers considering that she is able to hold an unprecedented amount of creative control over her works (it’s kind of a thing of legend that she has so much artistic control, especially in a world where very few Anime directors/writers that are women exist), and due to the fact that this was labeled as her best film yet. This is a story of irreplaceable time, woven by two lonely people who can only find solace in each other.I’m always pleased to see more Anime come from Shout Factory, but I am even more pleased at the fact that this latest one is not another Masaaki Yuasa film, or something from Studio Ghibli (not that either of those is a negative thing, I just have been wishing for a little bit more variety from the boutique studio, and variation is the spice of life). But as the era changes, the bond between Maquia and Ariel changes too, amidst a backdrop of racial tensions between the Iorph and the Mezarte. Maquia raises this boy "Ariel", with the help of some new friends. Maquia manages to escape, but loses her friends and her home in the chaos. Maquia, an orphaned Iorph girl, lives her life in an oasis surrounded by friends, yet somehow feels “alone." But the tranquil lives of the Iorph are shattered in an instant when the Mezarte army invades their territory on a dragon fleet, seeking the blood that grants the Iorph long life. They live for centuries while maintaining their youthful appearance. The people of Iorph live far away from the lands of men, weaving the happenings of each day into a fabric called Hibiol. A heartwarming story of a mother's love and irreplaceable time, the film dives into the dilemmas of motherhood, adolescence, femininity, and leadership. Directorial debut of Okada Mari (Anthem of the Heart) and featuring music by Kawai Kenji (Ghost in the Shell, Ring). ![]()
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