The Red Turtle is one of the most beautiful movies that I have ever seen. As this is a movie that Studio Ghibli had a hand in, I was very interested in checking it out. I was especially interested as this is a movie without any actual dialogue in it so I wondered if it would be able to keep my attention.
How to Download The Red Turtle
You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice. Check out also our reviews of other Studio Ghibli movies, for example, Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, or Kiki’s Delivery Service.
The Movie Review
Not only did The Red Turtle manage to keep my attention, it well and truly captivated me from start to end. It was an emotional rollercoaster and the kind of experience that was so strong, I have held off watching this movie for a second time for a few years as I write this.
The Red Turtle is about a young man who ends up shipwrecked on an island. The man makes a raft and tries to escape the island, but a “force” in the ocean stops him each time that he tries to do this. The island actually has all that he needs to survive and he starts to make due, but he ends up coming across a strange giant red turtle.
Now, no spoilers here, but he ends up meeting a woman with “red” hair, and the two of them fall in love. What we have is a lovely story about this man and woman and how they become lovers and live a loving and fulfilling life on this island. It truly becomes a paradise for this man who would have done anything to leave.
The man and woman eventually have a child. The little boy that they have has a real interest in the ocean and we get to see him and the two parents grow. It is such a lovely story and I think the reason that the movie tugged on my heartstrings so much was because it really was a great metaphor for how most of us live our lives.
It is basically the story of meeting that special someone, having a child, coming to terms with that child starting their own life, and then the inevitable ending of our life. It does all of this so incredibly well and it was impossible for me to take my eyes off the screen the whole time I was watching this.
While Studio Ghibli did not make this themselves, The Red Turtle undoubtedly has that iconic Studio Ghibli style about it in terms of the way that it looks. This is such a great movie and I highly recommend you pay a little bit extra and get the Blu-Ray of this as it is a movie that has to be seen in high definition.
Now, one of the most interesting things about this movie is that there is no actual dialogue moving the story along. There is sound here and the sound design is fantastic! However, the movie is all moved along without having to actually explain things to us and it is the kind of thing that could have been a disaster, but they could not have nailed it any better than they did.
I really need to go back and watch The Red Turtle again at some point. It would be very interesting to see how a second viewing of this would hold up and if it would have the same kind of impact. I highly recommend that you watch this, I would give this a perfect 10, but I really need to give it another watch before I decide for sure if it hangs with my other favorite Studio Ghibli movies.
