Review on "Only Yesterday"

While watching the film, @notacinephile bhai was saying this is one of those few wholesome Ghibli films which are just plain drama. This is actually true and still being just a simple drama, it refreshes me with its tranquil countryside scenario, the traditional farming culture and some reminiscing moments of childhood.
Only Yesterday is one of the unique feature films that Takahata directed for Studio Ghibli. I found this movie very uplifting as it relates to my life in so many ways. Whenever the main character (Taeko) was recalling her 10 years old self, I was going through that stage too! Having a little sister I can relate to those scenes like sister fights, sharing secrets, giving away old dresses to the younger, helping in doing math, fighting for silly things and all of these memories gives the vibe that it happened only yesterday!
This movie also brings a lot of cultural imagery of traditional parenting, child emotion, love and the puberty period of a Japanese girl. Like Taeko, I also have a strict father who still often imposes curfew for us, a friend circle with whom we shared all of our tiffin, secrets, and happiness.
Along with other educational systems, Japanese teaching methods give importance to the memorization process, rather than thinking practically like why the rules of the math are coming in this way.
And just like always, Takahata excellently portrays the whole of nature and brings every little detail out of it! During the summer break, Taeko goes to enjoy the farming culture in the countryside and from this journey, I get familiar with Japanese organic farming, culture of making rouge from harvesting safflowers, tie-dyeing clothes with the rest of the liquid essence and so on! Japanese culture is also full of myths that came out from one of the stories of harvesting the flowers.
In one of the parts, there is an illustration of the dawn under a mountain. When the sunshine started, the ray came through the spruce tree of the mountain and glittered in the dewdrops of those yellow petals of safflowers. The Hungarian soundtrack was working as a hymn of the morning prayer. Just only through the visualization, one can actually feel the calmness that the farmers were having in that scene.

I normally enjoy watching business insiders where they express how some traditional local businesses are still standing. This movie also brings the same vibe by showing how rouge is made of yellow safflower petals in a very detailed way. From picking up the flower petals to making the final production of rough and dying clothes from the leftovers, one can easily get the whole scenario out of it. I'm very much fond of gardening and stuff, (made some vegetables on my balcony too), and enjoyed farming in my early village life, so the fascination was quite relatable which was depicted through Taeko's life. They also highlight how these traditions are becoming extinct for machinery and industrialization. Similarly how the young generation of the village is devoted to city life and coming out of their traditional culture.
I was also moved by a scene where they explain how the city people like us think that nature is building in its own way. But the truth is the farmers and village people are planting and clearing woods and canals for generations. It's like mankind is battling with nature and receiving from it, and by evolving together, they created a scenery. Without our farmers, nature wouldn't exist and it goes vice versa. This is why they always took good care of nature and this collaboration became the heart of country life. It is also marked as the reason why some of us always feel at home amidst nature.
There are still a lot of things to explain but it is hard to explain with sleepy eyes. So last of all, I just want to say that, this movie gives me an overwhelming experience where I was present with the character the whole time. Anyone can put this heartwarming movie on their watchlist. Ah, wish I could watch it earlier!