Iblard Time
イバラード時間
Detailed parental analysis
Iblard Time is a contemplative animated short film that is entirely silent, lasting thirty minutes. There is no plot as such: the film offers a visual wandering through an imaginary world populated by dreamlike landscapes, peaceful creatures and changing light, without a central character or conflict. It is aimed primarily at young children and adults sensitive to visual art, but may perplex older children accustomed to structured narratives.
Underlying Values
The film conveys an invitation to contemplation and slowness, in a world where nothing is urgent, nothing confronts anything and nothing is resolved. This stance is coherent and sincere, but it deserves to be named with the child: watching without expecting action or narrative reward is a skill that our usual media environment scarcely encourages. The film implicitly values the beauty of the natural and imaginary world as an end in itself, without explicit moral or formulated lesson.
Strengths
The film is a rare plastic work, conceived as an animated gallery rather than as a narrative. The successive tableaux have a visual coherence and chromatic gentleness that exercise a genuinely soothing effect. For a young child still receptive to pure sensory stimulation, it is a quality experience, akin to a high-level animated picture book. For an adult, the film functions as a visual meditation and offers a welcome counterpoint to the narrative saturation of contemporary animated cinema. Its pedagogical value lies precisely in what it does not seek to teach: it trains the eye and patience without ever soliciting the intellect in a directive manner.
Age recommendation and discussion points
The film is suitable from age 3 for children receptive to soft images and silence, and can be watched without reservation at any age. After viewing, two conversation threads are worth pursuing: asking the child which image struck them most and why, and exploring together what one feels when a story tells nothing, whether it is restful or frustrating.
Synopsis
A quiet stroll through the imaginary world of Iblard, originally depicted in the paintings by Naohisa Inoue, influenced by Impressionism and Surrealism.
About this title
- Format
- Short film
- Year
- 2007
- Runtime
- 30m
- Countries
- Japan
- Original language
- JA
- Directed by
- Naohisa Inoue
- Studios
- Studio Ghibli
Content barometer
- Violence0/5None
- Fear0/5None
- Sexuality0/5None
- Language0/5None
- Narrative complexity0/5Simple
- Adult themes0/5None
Values conveyed
- Acceptance of difference
- Perseverance
- Autonomy
- imagination
- curiosity
- art