MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO

The animated classic by director Hayao Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli tells the story of sisters who move to the Japanese countryside with their father in 1958 to be nearer to their convalescing mother. The landscape, as gorgeously drawn by art director Kazu Oga, provides the girls with spirits and creatures of the friendly persuasion, but the 1988 movie is not without its sad moments. The evocative score is by Joe Hisaishi. The Uptown Theatre screens the subtitled Japanese original (not the Disney rerelease) Friday and Saturday at midnight.

CLAUDE PECK