Object #28 - Signal Lamp - Ponyo (2008)

Dir. Hayao Miyazaki 

Why do we watch films? Is it to be thrilled, to be frightened, to be amazed, or to be told a good story? Films fulfill all these things and more, often giving us more than one at a time. The older I've gotten, the more I want one thing out of the films I watch - humanity. In a horror film, I expect the victim to react like a real-human would. In a summer blockbuster, if I see a little human conversation between two or more characters not related to the plot, I'm happy. Jaws has many moments like this, and it pretty much makes the film. In the tense and horrifying situation of a killer shark on the loose, there is the friendly banter of the leads, the mourning of the victims, and the happy play of children before a shark attack. A lot of Edgar Wright films like Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, or The World's End have lots of moments of humanity, and yet remain stylized. Frankly, any good film worth its salt has at least one human moment.

Ponyo is certainly a good film. Studio Ghibli, like Pixar, have never made an out-and-out stinker of a film. Hayao Miyazaki, director and artist of many Ghibli films is one of the greatest living directors, and likely the greatest director of animation. Watch any of his films and the environment above-all else shines, and in Ponyo the environment takes center stage. 

The signal light scene in Ponyo is a perfect example of a human moment in among a film's plot. Ponyo isn't a film lacking in humanity at all, it's a magical story about a boy and a girl, the princess of the sea, falling in childhood love. The signal light scene, which you can view here, with the English dub (featuring a stellar voice-cast including Tina Fey, and Liam Neeson), has Sosuke (Frankie Jonas), wearing the Navy cap of his father, Koichi (Matt Damon) use a fitted signal lamp to signal Koichi, who is passing by the home of his child and wife, Lisa (Tina Fey). Sosuke is clearly excited as he looks through binoculars searching for his father, telling his mother to dim the light so they can signal. The posing of Lisa is great, she clearly doesn't want to signal Koichi, as he's deployed later than usual tonight and she's annoyed at him, and we see this from her body language - draped across the bed, legs up on the bed, head on the floor.

Picture is from a similar scene

Sosuke signals 'Hello' to his father, gets a response of 'Sorry' from his father, he calls to his mother "Dad says he's very sorry". Her response is "B-U-G O-F-F", which she repeats a few times, again, clearly annoyed. Sosuke relays the message. Koichi replies saying that he loves her, "lots and lots". Lisa rights herself, legs crossed, pillow in her lap, annoyed. She runs over to the signal lamp, and rapidly signals out the 'BUG OFF' message, over and over, as the text appears on screen (even that being beautifully drawn), pushed to the side, typewriter like, as each 'BUG OFF' is signaled. The noise itself is amusing, contrasting with the slower pace of the young Sosuke. Coupled with the previous motion of Lisa, and the on-screen text, it's a funny scene, and more than anything - believable.

Koichi messages back, but this time the entire ship's lights flash with his signal. It's a charming signal (literally!) of love, wowing Sosuke, less so with Lisa as she walks off in a huff. It's clear though that the couple have a history of love, as Koichi's charm here is easy to fall in love with. Sosuke signals back, with the letters appearing slower on screen 'GOOD LUCK'. As the ship head off to the horizon, it messages back 'THANKS. LOVE AND KISSES'. 

In this two minute scene, we know that Sosuke's father is a good-man, a man who signals his apologies and love across the sea to his infant son and annoyed wife. We see Lisa interact with her husband, far differently than she does with the infant Sosuke and Ponyo (Noah Cyrus) or the other adult characters in the story. Lisa and Koichi are clearly in love, she is despondent at his loss in the house, and Koichi wants to communicate with her and Sosuke, however briefly. 

Their love is a great counter to the mystical love of the human, turned demi-sea-god Fujimoto (Liam Neeson), father of Ponyo, and the sea-goddess, the Mother of the Sea, Granmamare (Cate Blanchett). These two do not interact as much, and when they do, it's clear that Granmamare is more god-like than the irritable Fujimoto, who hates the polluting humans with a passion, and seeks to stop Ponyo loving the human Sosuke (to a degree). It makes sense, the love of gods and demi-gods is obviously going to be different than that of a human man and woman, but what it does is, by contrast, highlight the humanity of the familial relationship of Sosuke, Lisa, and Koichi. The signal light scene is beautifully animated, simplistically written but to-the-point, and wonderfully performed by all involved. It's so damned human it's perfect, and in a film brimming with the mystical, it stands out as a beautiful human moment of film.