When I was in primary school in the 1960s, there was no Harry Potter. So instead I satisfied my need for adventures in space and time by watching “Doctor Who” on television, and by reading the award-winning book “A Wrinkle in Time” by Madeleine L’Engle, winner of the 1963 Newbery Medal for children’s literature.

Although it seems I nearly missed my chance to read the novel as it was initially turned down by more than twenty publishers because of the difficult themes it presented. And now Disney and director Ava DuVernay (Selma) bring us a new film adaptation of the seminal book that faithfully follows the plot of the novel. It tells the story of 13-year-old Meg Murry (Reid), who has difficulty fitting in at school – partly because she is brilliant at maths, but hopeless at other subjects.

That all soon becomes the least of her problems, however, when she learns that her astrophysicist father (Pine) is being held captive on a distant planet. Fortunately for Meg, she has 14-year-old Calvin (brilliantly portrayed by fine young Aussie actor Levi Miller), her genius younger brother Charles, and three astral travellers – played by Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling – to lend her a hand.

** PRESENTED IN ITS ORIGINAL JAPANESE LANGUAGE VERSION WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES **

In This Corner of the World is a Japanese wartime drama film, which has won a number of international awards for its thoughtful but unflinching portrayal of civilian life in Hiroshima and Kure during World War II. Although animated, it is not a film for young children, but may be an interesting one for families, provoking discussions on the impact of military conflict on individuals and communities.

The film follows the life of Suzu, a young woman with a talent for drawing, as she grows up, marries, and moves from her seaside village of Eba, near Hiroshima, to live with her husband’s family in Kure on the eve of World War II. As Kure was Japan’s largest naval base and arsenal during this period, she soon begins to feel the impact of the war, through rationing, internal displacement and bombing raids. Through many hardships Suzu strives to keep her family together and maintain a positive outlook on life.

Distinguished by a unique perspective on the Pacific War and beautiful hand-drawn animation that contrasts nature and traditional culture in Japan with the cruelty of wartime destruction, this is a rewarding and moving cinematic experience.