(re)Watched Marnie tonight, for the second time after initially watching it as part of the Gauntlet ranking
One thing that threw me off the first time through was that the implied romance between Marnie and Anna seemed like a weird mislead given the end reveal, and while it didn't really take away from my experience, it definitely confused me.
I think on a rewatch, I can appreciate the situation more. I ended up reading a review after that delved into how Anna's experience is remarkably similar to that of a queer child, and the more I think about it, from the gender nonconforming outfits to the obvious attraction/romantic interest Anna holds toward Marnie, the more I feel like the queer aspects are something the creators truly wanted to come across despite potentially being limited by cultural and societal restrictions for films in mid 2010s Japan.
This film works best in exploring Anna's (and Marnie's) self-discovery of her identity, in every aspect. She spends the whole film figuring out who she is, where she stands with her family and in her community, and she does so by sharing her experiences with Marnie, who had gone through a similar experience of self-discovery much earlier.
Overall it's a very pleasant film. Not one that sits with me deep, though it probably would've been had I not spent such a significant chunk of early 2020 watching coming-of-age anime.
8/10
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