Giovanni's Island

Giovanni's Island (2014) is an animated feature you can watch online on iFILM. Mizuho Nishikubo's historical drama drops you onto the tiny island of Shikotan in the days right after Japan loses the war, when soldiers in unfamiliar uniforms step ashore.

Brothers Junpei and Kanta live half inside Kenji Miyazawa's tale of a railway across the stars — the reason one of them carries the name Giovanni. Then the island passes under Soviet control, an officer's family moves into their home, and a girl named Tanya turns up next door. The children share no language, yet they build a friendship out of songs, drawings and games while the grown-up history pulls their families to opposite sides of a brand-new border.

Made at Production I.G and drawn in soft, watercolor strokes, the film grows out of what Kuril islanders actually went through after 1945. It's a rare view of those years through a child's eyes, with no cardboard villains — only people separated by forces far bigger than themselves. A heavy but tender piece that should land with serious anime fans and anyone after an honest film about war. Stream Giovanni's Island (2014) online on iFILM.