The world and the people around her change rapidly, and though her character and understanding of the world certainly grow with time, there’s a part of her that’s always distant because she doesn’t age like everyone else. While they initially took me by surprise, the sudden time jumps and fast pace of the film are a smart reflection of Maquia’s life. This leads Maquia to discover an orphaned baby who she chooses to raise on her own.įrom there, Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms moves through Maquia’s youth so quickly that it sometimes takes a moment to realize when there’s been a time jump, especially since these shots often start with an unaged Maquia. Maquia is separated from the catastrophe when she’s carried away by one of the dragons and is left alone in the wilderness. Their lives are disrupted when a nearby kingdom’s troops and dragons invade to kidnap the seemingly immortal women for one to marry the prince of the kingdom.
At first their beautiful, closed-off world seemed a little cold and oppressive, especially with protagonist 15-year-old Maquia’s obvious loneliness, but it’s a strong community with interesting customs nonetheless. They live in isolation and spend their days weaving beautiful cloth called Hibiol. The Iorph are a mythical sort of a people that live for hundreds of years but eternally look like children. Its music, its framing, its cuts between scenes, and its soft art style that contrasts so well with some blunt violence and cold moments all serve to advance these themes, and save for a few hiccups, Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms succeeds wonderfully. Award-winning screenwriter Mari Okada’s (Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day) directorial debut film is a thoughtful, heartbreaking exploration of motherhood and the cruelty of time set in gorgeous animation.