Watching Kiki’s Delivery Service in IMAX

Yesterday, I watched the 4K remastered version of Kiki’s Delivery Service in IMAX.

The images were overwhelming.

And I was struck again by the strength of its storytelling.

A film I had watched as a child reached me in a completely different way.

That surprised me a little.

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Last year, the best film I saw in a theater was the 4K remastered IMAX version of Princess Mononoke.

It was truly wonderful.

And this year, I think it will probably be Kiki’s Delivery Service.

It is a film from 37 years ago.

I was watching it in IMAX.

And yet, it did not feel old at all.

If anything, there were moments when it felt fresher than many films being made now.

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There is no preachy message.

It does not force an easy answer on you.

It does not try to move you with a loud voice.

There are only images.

A town.

Wind.

People.

And many small conversations.

Each one enters the heart quietly.

I found myself thinking that maybe this is what cinema is supposed to be.

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The time passed so quickly.

But it was a very happy time.

Kiki flies through the sky.

She lives in an unfamiliar town.

She gets hurt, little by little.

She meets people, little by little.

She loses her power.

And still, she tries to fly again.

Watching her, I felt the film reach a place in me it never reached when I was a child.

This is not only a film for children.

Maybe it reaches more deeply the older we become.

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There is something quiet in this film.

Work.

Leaving home.

Being helped by others.

Losing one’s power.

Finding one’s own sense again.

These things, which no one can avoid while living, are quietly held inside the film.

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When the film ended, I did not want to leave my seat right away.

I wanted to stay a little longer inside the wind of that town.

Watching a film from 37 years ago in IMAX in 2026.

That alone was a slightly mysterious experience.