Above: Isao Takahata's 1991 anime "Only Yesterday" will screen at four area theaters Sunday and Monday. (Photo/GKIDS)

At pretty much any stage of life, many of us – most of us, I suspect – tend to look back and reflect on what might have been.

Artists of all sorts often explore that same notion. And the 1991 anime feature “Only Yesterday” is a prime example.

You can see what I mean this coming Sunday and Monday because the film, which was written and directed by Isao Takahata, will screen at four area theaters on those days.

Sunday’s dubbed-in-English screening will be held at 3 and 7 p.m. at AMC River Park Square and three area Regal Cinemas theaters: NorthTown Mall, Spokane Valley and Coeur d’Alene’s Riverstone Stadium.

Monday’s 7 p.m. only screening will feature Japanese langue with English subtitles.

“Only Yesterday” tells the story of a 27-year-old woman (voiced in English by Daisy Ridley) who, during a stay in the country, recalls her childhood and ruminates on her life decisions. Takahata’s film, which was adapted from the manga by Hotaru Okamoto and Yuko Tone. was first released in the U.S. in 2016, a full 25 years after its premiere in Japan.

It’s received nothing but love from critics.

Tal Rosebnerg of the Chicago Reader wrote, “Half coming-of-age story, half adult drama, the film demonstrates Takahata's belief that animation need not be limited to children's fantasy.”

Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times wrote, “The story of a young woman who moves back and forth between childhood memories and the dilemmas of her current life, ‘Only Yesterday’ is a realistic, personal story made universal in a delicate way.”

Devan Coggan of Entertainment Weekly wrote, “ ‘Only Yesterday’ may have been released in 1991 and take place in 1982 and 1966, but Taeko's reflection on girlhood is truly timeless.”

A co-founder of Japan’s famous Studio Ghibli, Takahata died in 2018 at the age of 82. In addition to a whole slate of television work, his other feature films include 1988’s “Grave of the Fireflies” and 2013’s Oscar-nominated “The Tale of the Princess Kaguya.”