The Tale of The Princess Kaguya

Studio Ghibli released this film in 2013, and it grows out of a piece of classic Japanese literature that many people know only in outline. What it does with that outline is quieter and sadder than the fairy-tale label suggests. At heart it is a drama about a girl raised in a rural, ancient world where everyone around her has plans for who she should become.

The mood is reflective and a little philosophical. There is a romance in it, but not the courtship story you might be expecting, and family life carries as much weight as any suitor does. Gods and religion sit at the edges of the world, and the fantasy serves the feeling rather than the spectacle. Go in knowing that it is a tragedy, told gently, and that the pace is unhurried. It rewards patience and a willingness to sit with a sad idea.

It is a single feature film, so the commitment is one evening, ideally one without distractions. Anyone who likes the more contemplative side of Ghibli, or who enjoys old tales retold with a sense of what they cost the people inside them, should find it worth the time. It streams on Netflix and Max.