Liz and the Blue Bird

Name: Liz and the Blue Bird
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Music, Animation, Family
Released: November 9, 2018
Duration: 90 min
Rating: 67
Cast: Atsumi Tanezaki, Ayaka Asai, Chika Anzai, Konomi Fujimura, Miyu Honda

2018

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 5 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 7 Ratings

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8.4

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8.4	User Score Universal acclaim based on 7 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

Eleven Arts | Release Date: November 9, 2018 | Not Rated

Starring: Atsumi Tanezaki, Ayaka Asai, Chika Anzai, Konomi Fujimura, Miyu Honda, Moe Toyota, Nao Tôyama, Shiori Sugiura, Tomoyo Kurosawa, Yuri Yamaoka

Summary: Mizore Yoroizuka plays the oboe, and Nozomi Kasaki plays the flute in Kita Uji High School concert band. As seniors, this will be their last competition together, and the selected piece “Liz and the Blue Bird” features a duet for the oboe and flute. “This piece reminds me of us,” Nozomi says cheerfully, enjoying the solo, while Mizore'sMizore Yoroizuka plays the oboe, and Nozomi Kasaki plays the flute in Kita Uji High School concert band. As seniors, this will be their last competition together, and the selected piece “Liz and the Blue Bird” features a duet for the oboe and flute. “This piece reminds me of us,” Nozomi says cheerfully, enjoying the solo, while Mizore's usual happiness to play with Nozomi is tinged with the dread of their inevitable parting. By all accounts the girls are best friends, but the oboe and flute duet sounds disjointed, as if underscoring a growing distance between them. Talk of college creates a small rift in their relationship, as the story evolves to reveal a shocking and emotional conclusion. [Eleven Arts]… Expand

Director: Naoko Yamada

Genre(s): Drama, Fantasy, Music, Animation, Family

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 90 min

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Critic Reviews

Natasha H.

Nov 5, 2018

Liz and the Blue Bird, while seemingly straightforward and simple, is one of the most structurally complex films about the necessity of communication for healthy relationships. It displays human insecurity and vulnerability in beautifully honest ways. Read full review

Richard Whittaker

Nov 5, 2018

There are no violent clashes or extraneous drama about boys. Instead, it's a simple and tender portrait of how friendships aren't always forever. Read full review

Jordan Mintzer

Nov 15, 2018

Like in A Silent Voice, Yamada has a very keen eye for depicting adolescent malaise in visually evocative terms, and Liz and the Blue Bird could have benefited from even more flights of fancy than she allows for here. Read full review

Anthony Ray Bench

Nov 5, 2018

The story was painfully dull to me, and the entire thing (aside from the aforementioned storybook sequences) takes place in a dull looking school setting with hardly any change of scenery to break up the dreadful monotony. As far as the story goes, it’s a painfully basic story about two friends growing apart from one another. The drama here is as low-stakes as it gets. Read full review

Charles Solomon

Nov 8, 2018

Liz and the Blue Bird may appeal to fans of “Sound Euphonium,” but many recent Japanese features have dealt with teen friendships and angst in more interesting ways. Read full review

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User Reviews

gadoto

Jul 31, 2020

The soundtrack, the visuals, the story, everything about this movie is beautiful, it retraits perfectly the relationship of the girls, and how they grown up, through the cinematography, you can feel what they are feeling, it's just amazing.
The soundtrack of this film is just the best i'veThe soundtrack, the visuals, the story, everything about this movie is beautiful, it retraits perfectly the relationship of the girls, and how they grown up, through the cinematography, you can feel what they are feeling, it's just amazing.
The soundtrack of this film is just the best i've ever seen, it connects perfectly with the visuals and the theme, at the beggining for example, the rhythm is composed in coprime numbers to represent that the girls are disjointed, it's a masterpiece in itself.
The use of limited perspectives makes us fell the angst, the sadness etc. The use of colour is amazing too, everything about this is perfect. It is the thing I liked the most in my entire existence. I realy loved it.… Expand

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IgnorantCritic

Mar 24, 2020

Naoko Yamada's feature "Liz and the Blue Bird" exemplifies the powers of the medium of Japanese animation, allowing itself to revel in all the nuances of the brilliantly but subtle world.

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nichi

Jun 6, 2019

The Best Musical/Drama movie eve i watched!.It's about side history of Sound! Euphonium that great engrandece the universe development the relationship of two cute and beautiful characters!. I Love it!

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