From Up On Poppy Hill by Studio Ghibli

We weren't sure about this Studio Ghibli movie because first of all, it is directed by Goro Miyazaki, and not the great master Hayao Miyazaki who directed My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, etc. Secondly, the movie was not being released widely in Los Angeles. The closest theatre showing the movie is in Westwood, but only once a day, smack in the middle of the day. It's hard to find the right time to go.

Luckily, our parents are die hard Miyazaki fans, so on Saturday night, we drove all the way out to the Laemmle theatre in North Hollywood to see the movie.

The movie doesn't have any white knuckle action like most American movies do. The storyline is slow paced: It's about this girl in 1960's Yokohama who waits for her sailor father to come back to her while she takes care of her family's boarding house. She falls in love with a schoolmate who is involved in trying to save an old school club house and she chips in to help.

The movie should be a classic. The background artwork is stunning, depicting the streets, sights, culture, and architecture of 1960s Yokohama and Tokyo: a time when the country was modernizing after World War II to meet the demands of hosting the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. The story seems definitely a departure from Hayao Miyazaki the father, lacking his adventure and action style. However, we may just become Goro Miyazaki fans too with his nostalgic and sentimental story about treasuring the past while moving forward into the future.

We've visited Yokohama,Tokyo and the Miyazaki Museum in the past and it's fun to be reminded of those places while watching the movie. The movie should definitely be more widely released in the United States. It's recommended for all kids and adults alike.

New Short Film By Trevor Zhou on Flight.

Have you guys ever wished you could fly? I have, and still do—and I’m not alone! Trevor Zhou’s short film, “The Problem of Gravity”, explores the common childhood dream to fly in its story of a young boy and his numerous attempts to defy gravity. The boy, an Asian American kid named Tim, is first inspired to fly when he spots an airplane flying above his yard. From there, his dreams of flying take off (yes, pun intended). In his backyard, he builds cardboard wings and dresses up as Superman to fly, all to no avail. In the end, he gets his wish in a more conventional way.

The Problem of Gravity from Trevor Zhou on Vimeo.

What I love about the film is the way it exemplifies childhood—the curiosity, the perseverance, the naivete, and the excitement—without making it seem too fantastic. As a matter of fact, Mr. Zhou modeled it partially after his own childhood dream of growing up to be Superman. And the film doesn’t just appeal to kids; the story is very down-to-earth and something many of us—kids and adults alike—can really relate to. Isn’t the idea of being able to fly high over the rest of the world a main theme of all Hayao Miyazaki's work as well? It’d be convenient, too; as Mr. Zhou says, “imagine the places you could go and the money you would save on airfare and transportation! No more waiting for trains”!


Trevor Zhou is a Chinese American filmmaker from New York. He is an artist, but also worked in the entertainment industry as an actor, appearing in commercials and TV dramas. He eventually became interested in writing—which his how he came up with and got around to directing and producing“The Problem of Gravity”, a film that has been accepted into the Brooklyn Film Festival and the Korean American Film Festival in New York.

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Director/Producer Trevor Zhou

(and no, it's not a bad perm. His hair is naturally curly!)

 Some of the films Zhou likes are Survive Style 5+ and the short film “Shift” by Jonathan Yi, and our favorite as well, Justin Lin's Better Luck Tomorrow.