ピアノの森

Piano no Mori

I just happened to be quite taken by the appeal of a grand piano in a sunny clearing in the depths of a forest.

「ピアノの森」 (Piano no Mori) is an animation movie about two elementary school boys with very different musical backgrounds and very different views about piano music. Amamiya dreams of becoming a famous pianist, and religiously attends his piano classes and practices very hard playing perfectly to the score, in order to realize his dream. On the hand, Kai's piano playing skills are self-taught, and his carefree playing reflects his interpretation of the freedom and enjoyment of piano music. The two boys became acquainted when Amamiya transferred to Kai's school, and Kai was excited to finally have a piano-playing friend. He proudly lead Amamiya to his secret base; a clearing in a nearby forest where 'his' piano stood. Rumors had it that the piano doesn't sound, but Kai vehemently disagrees. He insists that Amamiya plays the piano and hears it for himself.

However, when Amamiya hit the keys, the piano did not produce any sound. Disbelieved, Kai shoved Amamiya aside and played the piano himself. Miraculously, beautiful music resonated throughout the forest. Amamiya soon discovered that Kai could play the piano in the forest but he couldn't because Kai had played the piano with such genuine and sincere love and enjoyment for music, and it was as if the piano 'accepted' his honest feelings and reflected them in the sound of music.

Honestly speaking, the movie is quite bland, although there were some humor. It analyzes the differences in musical interest that is so common among the society; people who play to achieve technical mastery, and people who play for the pure enjoyment of music. It also hinted on the emphasis of concours on perfection of showmanship, instead of nurturing unique musical interpretations.

I watched this movie out of interest for graphical animation and classical music; other than that, I think it's quite a boring movie. So unless you love piano to death, I reckon you don't try this one.

～みはる～