Out this week in cinemas is Suzume from celebrated director Makoto Shinkai. Shinkai brought audiences many beloved films such as Your Name and Weathering with You. With Suzume, Shinkai tells a story of a young girl who goes on an adventure that traverses time and space.
In Suzume, the titular character is a young girl who lives with her aunt. Then one day she bumps into a random college student called Souta, who is searching for ruins near her village. When she sends him to the local ruins she has a bad feeling, so she goes to find him in the ruins. Instead what she finds is a door and a stone totem. She opens the door and finds a whole galaxy filled with stars, from that moment on Suzume’s life will never be the same again.
Suzume is at the door
I loved this film, from the fascinating concept about the power of memories to the memorable characters, there is nothing about this film that I didn’t adore. Shinkai’s films are known for their lush environments and Suzume is no different. Suzume and Souta travel to many locales around Japan and each one is gorgeous in design and has wonderful characters to populate them. A particular highlight comes in the third act involving a horrifying force over the skies of Tokyo.
Suzume is not just a visually impressive film. It is an emotional story about a young character leaving their provincial life and expanding their horizons by meeting interesting characters. One particular character Suzume and Souta meet is a mother of two, who turns out to be a hostess at a bar and it’s a moment in the film where Suzume learns a lot about the world. She meets so many interesting characters and she grows from each experience.
Her relationship with Souta is also quite sweet. Their dynamic is great as he helps her figure out what to do during this out-of-this-world adventure. If I had any critiques of this film it would be that the film is a little too long. However, the climax of the film is incredibly emotional and beautifully choreographed, involving otherworldly forces so this is more of a nitpick than anything else.
Suzume is in cinemas on the 14th of April and I highly recommend this for fans of Shinkai’s work. It’s a beautiful story filled with engaging characters.
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