Looking for Anne (2009)

Looking for Anne (2009) is a film that tells an original story that was inspired by L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables. The contemporary tale follows the journey of Anri, a seventeen-year-old Japanese woman, who visits Prince Edward Island for three weeks. Anri arrives in Canada on a personal quest to search for her recently deceased grandmother's first love. The man was a Canadian soldier that her grandmother met at the end of World War II, and he gave her a copy of Anne of Green Gables. Beyond this, all Anri knows is that the man lived near a lighthouse.

The press kit for the film describes it as follows:

"Looking for Anne" presents an entirely original story inspired by the book "Anne of Green Gables" of the Canadian writer, Lucy Maud Montgomery. It tells how this single book, and the friendships that build around it, can change the life of people beyond time and space...

Looking for Anne starred Honoka Ishibashi as Anri and was directed by Takako Miyahira. The film's cast also included Daniel Pilon, Rosanna Zanbon, Kazuko Yoshiyuki, Johnny Sa, Mahiru Konno, Ai Takabe and Tarek Ghader. The film is 105 minutes in length, and it was produced by Zuno Films and was distributed by Filmoption International Inc.

Director Takako Miyahira first read Anne of Green Gables as an adult. In an interview with The Globe and Mail, Miyahira states, "The first time I read the book, I thought, Why did I miss this precious book? I should have read it earlier!" She felt compelled to make a film about the power of the Anne of Green Gables. Miyahira goes on to say, "Now in the world, people are confused with so many values about happiness or aiming for success. Anne of Green Gables teaches how to find happiness,"

In 2009, Looking for Anne received awards for Best Film and Best Director at the Singapore Asian First Film Festival. It had a wide theatrical run in Japan.


References:
CBC News. (2009, December 7). Anne film wins at Asian festival. Retrieved from: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/anne-film-wins-at-asian-festival-1.817665

Dixon, Guy. (2010, December 1). Anne of Green Gables' eternal life in Japan. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved from: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/anne-of-green-gables-eternal-life-in-japan/article1316455/

Looking for Anne Press Kit (2009). Retrieved from: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5bb117fe8dfc8ced93a929ee/t/5c9106a8eb39312d6e39b65d/1553008311339/Looking+for+Anne+-+Press+Kit+ENG.pdf

Image credit:
Official film poster for Looking for Anne © Filmoption International Inc.

Official Websites:
Looking for Anne (Filmoption International Inc.)
Looking for Anne Trailer

Created April 19, 2009. Last updated April 26, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Anne of Galactic Gables by Tom McHenry

Have you ever wondered what Anne Shirley would be like if she traveled to outer space? Well, comic and zine creator Tom McHenry has imagined it out for you.

In McHenry's one-off webcomic, Anne and Matthew Cuthbert are traveling through space. Anne is ashamed to be wearing a "horrid old wincey" spacesuit. Then she lightens up, smiling and asking Matthew about the blue planet they arrived at. When Matthew explains that it's called Earth, Anne replies, "They shouldn't call it 'Earth.' There's no meaning in a name like that. They should call it 'The Azure Orb of Delight.'"

McHenry's sci-fi comic based on Anne of Green Gables was featured in an article called, "When Classic Literature Gets Updated" by Graeme McMillan at io9.com. McMillan writes, "Move over, Pride and Prejudice And Zombies, a new updating of classic literature has come along to win your heart... Or at least make you laugh. Yes, it's Anne of Green Gables... in space."

On his livejournal, McHenry explains his inspiration: "Sara and I have been reading the original Anne novels (not my ill-fated science fiction sequels including Anne of Lavaworld and Rilla of Planetside) aloud before bed."

At io9, McMillan goes on to say, "The strip was just one of McHenry's "Future and Space Things" themed week of comics, alongside Space Yuppies. More proof that more people should be forced to come up with science fiction when they least expect it." I heartily agree. I enjoyed reading this fantastic and fun comic.

Created February 16, 2009. Re-posted online April 17, 2024. Last updated April 17, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

National Post Review of Lucy Maud Montgomery: The Gift of Wings

Judy Stoffman wrote a comprehensive review of Lucy Maud Montgomery: The Gift of Wings by Mary Rubio for the National Post titled "Beyond the Red Haired Girl: Her Fiction May Be Upbeat, but L.M. Montgomery’s Life Was Less So." Stoffman writes about the stark contrast between the happy endings Montgomery wrote for her "plucky heroines" and her own turbulent life.

Stoffman writes,

"In her 21 books of fiction, Lucy Maud Montgomery always provided a happy ending. Her plucky heroines, the red-haired orphan Anne Shirley the most famous among them, somehow manage to seize their opportunity to love, to marry, to find acceptance in their community after vanquishing controlling mothers, gossipy neighbours, manipulative suitors, bullying fathers, cruel grandmothers, false friends, negative aunties - the whole nasty army of discouraging, judgmental, energy-sapping naysayers bent on undermining the dreams and ambitions of the young.

Yet a happy ending eluded the lively, intelligent and hard-working Montgomery herself, who lived what may be the most tragic life of any Canadian writer and died an addict to prescription medications at the age of 67, in 1942."

Stoffman writes about the new information provided by Rubio's biography, which examines Montgomery's early life, schooling, romances, career, marriage, relationships, and children.

"Five volumes of her diaries were published by Oxford University Press beginning in 1985, but the full extent of her suffering and disappointments has not been known until Mary Rubio's Lucy Maud Montgomery: The Gift of Wings (Doubleday Canada, 684 pages, $39.95). Montgomery had carefully shaped and revised her diaries throughout her life, deleting the most shameful facts. Rubio, now an emeritus professor of English at the University of Guelph, spent 30 years researching her magisterial biography and has filled in all the gaps."

According to Stoffman, Rubio's new biography puts L.M. Montgomery's life in context and considers the radical shifts following WWI, including the changes in literary tastes, psychiatric treatments, and views of religion. Rubio's extensive research shows how Montgomery's life was affected by societal, cultural, and personal factors, providing a nuanced and thorough portrait of the author.


Reference:
Stoffman, Judy. (2009, January 17). Beyond the Red Haired Girl: Her Fiction May Be Upbeat, but L.M. Montgomery’s Life Was Less So. National Post. Retrieved from: http://www.financialpost.com/scripts/story.html?id=1186069

Anne of Green Gables Valentines - Set 3

Here's a third set of Anne of Green Gables Valentines to give to your kindred spirits, friends, classmates, and loved ones. Save the Anne-inspired Valentines shown below. Then print the Valentine cards out on cardstock paper in landscape mode, cut them out, and share them!



To design this set of Anne of Green Gables Valentines, I used public domain images, public domain clipart from Antique Clipart, and an image of Gilbert Blythe and Anne Shirley from Sullivan Entertainment's production of Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel (1987).

Download and print more Anne of Green Gables Valentines here: Set 1, Set 2, and Set 4.

Created January 16, 2009, Re-posted online January 24, 2024. Last updated January 26, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com