Review: ‘Giovanni’s Island’ a heavy-handed, familiar fantasy

Like the 1998 film “Grave of the Fireflies,” from which it borrows a little too obviously, the new “Giovanni’s Island” depicts the cruel, unnecessary suffering of children caught in political conflicts they don’t understand.

Ten-year-old Junpei and his little brother, Kanta, are growing up on Shikotan, a tiny island near the northern edge of Japan, when World War II abruptly ends. But Japan’s surrender doesn’t put an end to their hardships. The island is occupied by Soviet troops, who take over the inhabitants’ homes and school, forcing Junpei’s family to share the stable with their horse.

Their lives take a turn for the worse when their father is caught illegally distributing rice to his neighbors and is imprisoned. The brothers, their elementary schoolteacher and their conniving uncle are shipped to an internment camp on the nearby island of Sakhalin, where they suffer from the bitter cold and inadequate rations.

Whenever the boys are unhappy, they tell each other fantasies based on Kenji Miyazawa’s beloved “Night on the Galactic Railroad,” a fable about a magical train that journeys among the stars, carrying souls from this life to the next.

Directed by Mizuho Nishikubo and rendered in a simple, angular style that doesn’t always blend effectively with the more complex CG background elements, “Giovanni’s Island” offers some striking visuals in the fantasy sequences set aboard the Galactic Railroad. But the script by Shigemichi Sugita and Yoshiki Sakurai feels heavy-handed and obvious, especially in the drawn-out scenes when Kanta boards the magical railroad.

The suffering of children like Junpei and Kanta continues, decades after the events depicted in “Giovanni’s Island.” Isao Takahata’s “Grave of the Fireflies” presented their sorrows with a poignant eloquence that Nishikubo fails to match.

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“Giovanni’s Island”

MPAA rating: None

Running time: 1 hour, 44 minutes.

Playing: Lammle’s Town Center 5, Encino.