Liz and the Blue Bird Review

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IMDb

Liz and the Blue Bird is a 2018 anime film based on the Sound Euphonium! series written by Reiko Yoshida and directed by Naoko Yamada who also directed the very similar and beautiful A Silent Voice (2016). Liz and the Blue Bird is also a Kyoto Animation production and features music from the same A Silent Voice composer Kensuke Ushio. Liz and the Blue Bird follows the characters of Mizore Yoroizuka, a quiet and soft-spoken girl who isn't very social, and Nozomi Kasaki, a more upbeat and lively character who can make friends with everyone. Both girls are in a band with Mizore playing the oboe and Nozomi playing the flute and the film follows the two trying to play a duet based on the fairytale Liz and the Blue Bird. The fairytale and solo are assigned to correlate directly with the nature and state of their friendship. The two girls not only have to figure out how to play the solo but also how to navigate through their own lives, struggles, and friendship.

IMDb

Liz and the Bluebird is essentially a story of two close friends that are terrified of drifting apart due to their high school years coming to an end but can't say these feelings to each other as they don't know how to process their emotions or each other in the right way. Both Mizore and Nozomi both love each other dearly as close friends but want to figure out how to emit these emotions properly and to not have their feelings interfere with their duet performance in a negative manner. While the concept is simple, the very execution of this premise is tight and flawless. The amazing animation, score, dialogue and character interactions all blend together perfectly to make Liz and the Bluebird a truly one of a kind experience. The character animations of Nozomi and especially Mizore do an incredible job of showcasing the inner emotions they are feeling at any given moment. As new things are revealed or as a character in the movie is processing something it's all done through the facial expressions and body moments of the characters. From a technical standpoint alone you understand exactly what the characters are thinking or feeling without any dialogue needed as the silence in Liz and the Blue Bird speaks volumes. Another amazing aspect is how music is used throughout. Kensuke Ushio's score here is mesmerizing as it not only hits every emotion but also uses a wide array of sounds even using everyday noises that match with what the characters are doing in any given scene.

IMDb

The opening scene of Liz and the Blue Bird shows the very best use of the movie's tone, sound design, symbolism and atmosphere. You see Mizore sit on some steps waiting for Nozomi and you see her hands clench up in anticipation waiting for her as her feet cross. A background character shows up to walk by Mizore up the steps and the OST only stays as light ambient noises as Mizore doesn't react to her. As soon as Nozomi shows up, the OST starts to pick up with airy pianos and birds chirping in the background. Even the two girls walking is used in the actual song as their footsteps sync with the light music. The pianos get even more chirpy as Nozomi walks over with a smile on her face as her ponytail bops left and right in a playful manner showing the audience what her personality is like already without having any dialogue. Nozomi finds and gives Mizore a blue feather which has personal significance throughout the film for Mizore and then they start walking to the band classroom. The sound design in this scene is perfect from closing a locker to drinking from a water fountain every sound adds to the atmosphere. Nizomi's walking is chipper and full of energy meanwhile Mizore's movement is more still and restrained. They reach a stairwell and Nozomi is framed higher up looking more confident and fearless meanwhile Mizore is framed several times looking up to her. Throughout the scene they walk with each other but Mizore is distant in their walking space being more in the back rather than up close with Nizomi. The shots in this scene can be shot a bit off-angle as it represents that the two girls as close as they are still don't fully understand each other clearly. As they reach the band room Mizore looks anxious and worried as she's thinking about the thought of not being able to see her friend again and as they head inside the music stops and one word appears: "disjoint."

IMDb

The main setting of Liz and the Blue Bird is exclusively at the high school the two girls attend but the movie smartly takes a break from this setting at times to animate the fictional Liz and the Blue Bird fable world. The Liz and the Blue Bird fairytale based on the solo Mizore and Nizomi have to perform gets its own watercolor animation style and scenes for showing the story. Liz in the story is a lonely young woman who meets and becomes close friends with a magical blue bird who can turn into a human girl. Liz sees over time that living together is causing the blue bird not to be able to spread its wings and grow so she decides to let it free. This story mirrors how the two individual girls feel about each other. Mizori feels like she is holding Nozomi back from her true potential or from getting anywhere in life so she tries to become more distant from Mizore. The duet itself that they have to perform represents the scene in the story where the blue bird is let go and the two become separated. Mizori in the duet is supposed to play the part of the blue bird and Nizome is supposed to be Liz. Things are not as they seem though and the movie does a great job of hinting at various aspects about themselves that the two don't realize until later about each other that impact their duet performance and relationship.

IMDb

Liz and the Blue Bird also thrives from its excellent dialogue. Every scene and conversation in this movie has some sort of purpose later on or serves as a wonderful way of exploring the characters deeper. Every discussion or topic mentioned has meaning or is used in a clever or emotional callback by the end of the film. Liz and the Blue Bird works on practically every level and is accessible for anyone and can even be watched without having to watch the Sound Euphonium! series. Mizore and Nizomi both are lovable and fully realized characters and the side characters also add to this film like for example the friend Mizore makes named Ririka. Liz and the Blue Bird is truly a flawless watch and is a moving experience along with being a thought-provoking and perfect movie. For this seeming like a small-scaled movie on the surface, there's a much bigger and more beautiful experience inside. "joint."