I just finished watching this movie, and gosh, wasn’t it good? Then I went through many posts about it and felt like they seemed to have missed the picture, so here I am, giving my own point of view and what I took from it.
This film, more or less to me, is about a young girl who’s reconciling her losses and grief through the vague memory she had of her grandmother and her imagination. I don’t believe that Marnie was a ghost or real, at least not at the present time during the film, and it tends to keep things fluid so that the interpretation is smooth, so Ghibli-like.
Anna loses track of Marnie throughout the movie, and in the end, it’s quite frustrating that she left her without saying anything. This was Anna’s connection to her parents leaving without saying goodbye. This led to a powerful scene with her finally forgiving her parents for their untimely deaths.
Many people are talking about the film being ‘queerbaiting’ or whatever. I think there is room for interpretation, but really, I think it was the connection to her grandmother and her need for a connection that made them so intimate with each other.
All this was manifested from the memories she had of her grandmother and her own imagination. It is a breathtakingly beautiful movie about coping with loss and loneliness through the connection of vague memories of her grandma talking about the mansion.
It goes without saying that for Ghibli films the movie is absolutely gorgeous. A lot of times, you just have to pause the movie and just take in the beautiful, hand-drawn, detail-laden landscapes. Those alone are worth watching the movie.
It becomes clear as the film nears its end that Marnie wants Anna to know how it feels to be treasured and loved unconditionally. This would heal Marnie’s spirit, too, as together, they could heal from the abandonment issues that haunted their lives.
But it is all explained in the end. There are some scary parts, but nothing a kid 8 and up couldn’t handle, possibly even a bit younger. Studio Ghibli has a way of allowing the philosophy and depth of a story to be understood by adults as well as children. The plot has twists and turns that all viewers will enjoy!