Night on the Galactic Railroad

Giovanni works after school; his mother is ill, his father has been gone a long time and his classmates mock him. His only friend is Campanella. On the night of the star festival Giovanni climbs a hill and falls asleep there. When he wakes he is on a train. The train runs through the sky, stopping along the Milky Way. Campanella is on it too. Other passengers board and get off along the way; each is going somewhere and none of them says where. Giovanni slowly understands what the journey is. Gisaburō Sugii directs. The source is Kenji Miyazawa's novel, among the most read works in Japanese literature. Its most striking choice is the character design: most of the characters, Giovanni and Campanella included, are drawn as cats, which is not in the book. The signs and writing in the film are in Esperanto; Miyazawa was interested in the language and the production uses it directly. The music is by Haruomi Hosono and the electronic score sets the film's register. The narrative explains nothing; death, sacrifice and parting are given without being stated. The pace of the animation is deliberately slow; the scenes are held long and there is little talk. The film is considered a classic in Japan and is spoken of together with the book. Who it is for: viewers who like slow, symbolic animation. Who it is not for: it is very slow, the narrative is closed, and it does not suit anyone expecting a children's film.