When Marnie Was There made me break down sobbing
So my friend and I are doing a marathon of all of the Ghibli films: we finally made it to When Marnie Was There. Some of the other ones, like Grave of the Fireflies and Princess Kaguya emotionally wrecked us made us both tear up, but I absolutely broke down sobbing watching Marnie.
(spoiler)
For context: my grandma passed at the start of the year. She was my only grandma, and she was the first person in my life I lost. I didn’t cry at her funeral, and I tried to force it but it didn’t happen. For months I didn’t cry about her death. However I made it to the scene when it was revealed Marnie was Anna’s grandmother had raised her when she was a baby and said she loved her. I felt the overwhelming grief of the pain of losing my grandma well up like an overflowing dam and spill over, leaving me a sobbing mess.
It’s not the best of the best for Ghibli, but When Marnie Was There is the one film in this marathon that I’m most grateful for watching for letting me express this pain that had been closed off.