About Soul and Light

Probably, each of us at least once thought about thing, as about something living with our own feelings.

People have always endowed the inanimate soul in ancient tales, in books, in films, and, of course, in cartoons. And for the Japanese it’s completely customary to believe that everything created by nature is a container of sacred spirits and deities, and that created by human hands comes to life thanks to the love and work of its creator or master.

This is how the Japanese director, screenwriter and animator Sukegawa Utah revived for the audience the heroes of the author’s film with his art. He directed the short animated film “Light”, which has collected a large number of awards at various festivals around the world.

Sacrifice runs through the whole picture with a red thread — it is visible even in the last scene, where the flower is desperately trying to pull itself closer to its fallen friend, at the risk of tearing its thin stalk.

“Light” is one of the two most famous works of this wonderful director. The original name of the film sounds like 灯花 — Touka. As a Japanese culture specialist, I was very attracted by the pun in the title. The name consists of two characters — 灯 and 花. The first means “lantern, lamp”, and the second — “flower”, which directly sends us to the story itself. And at the same time, these two characters read together will be consonant with the Japanese word 灯火 — Touka, which translates as “Light”. It is convenient when your language can convey meanings not only in words, but also in their form, is not it? Adds some special depth, inexpressible in simple words.

In total, the film lasts a little over seven minutes. And during this time we are shown a touching story about an old broken lantern, stuck somewhere in the middle of snowy Japan. Who needs a lantern that has already fallen off its pillar and is hanging on a thin wire? That’s about to break off and fall. And what’s the use of him if he shines directly into the earth? However, a ray of light and heat performs a small miracle, and in the middle of a harsh winter a small and tremulous flower breaks onto the surface.

Who is the main antagonist of this film? Perhaps this is primarily a hostile outside world. Cold, wind, snow are only one of its manifestations. Bad weather becomes a metaphor for the hardships of life that fall on the shoulders of people and which many cannot cope alone. And it is at such a moment that it is important that there is someone nearby who can support and protect you, just like a lantern protected a flower until the last moment.

This film is primarily about love. But about love, not only romantic, because love is something incomparably greater that goes beyond any framework, it is something that in no case can be substituted for any templates and that you cannot label “true love” or “fake love”. And that is why I saw in this film not only romance, but also the amazing power of a sincere feeling that can connect not only lovers.

After all, is it not possible to imagine in place of a lantern and a flower, for example, a parent and a child? After all, a flower came into this world thanks to a lantern, blossomed under its warm light. Do not parents sacrifice themselves in the same way for the good of their children? Of course, donate. You can see here friendship and brotherly love — how many warm relationships in the world of human beings, so many love options can be found here. Everyone will see it a little in their own way, through the prism of their personal experience. It’s not about WHO loves. It’s about how they love. And sacrifice plays an important role here. Sacrifice runs through the whole picture with a red thread — it is visible even in the last scene, where the flower is desperately trying to pull itself closer to its fallen friend, at the risk of tearing its thin stalk.

I would sincerely advise everyone to watch this film, both for adults and children. This story about the revived lantern and flower can affect the strings of the soul within anyone. Without words, without the familiar faces and facial expressions, in the spirit characteristic of Japanese animation, he will tell you a beautiful winter fairy tale about the great human feeling that can melt any ice.

FAAF