mid way Makoto ShinkaiK’s latest, you feel how it differentiates it from his previous works Your name And weathering with you, In the decades since, Shinkai’s vision (itself a modern legend) has been compared to the greatest ever seen: Hayao Miyazaki, now with SuzumHe goes full throttle with references and tributes studio GhibliA legacy that’s sure to set Miyazaki fans into raptures of delight.
however, Suzum Still a Shinaki film in the more recent mold of what we’re accustomed to from the Japanese animator; If weathering… dealt with a world affected by climate change, here, he refers to 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami Due to which there was havoc in the whole country.
The premise is as simple as ever; Suzume Iwato is a 17-year-old orphaned schoolgirl who lives with her aunt after her mother, a nurse, is killed in a tsunami. A chance encounter with a mysterious, handsome stranger leads her to (accidentally) opening a portal to an alternate dimension that only she can see, but cannot enter. It is revealed that Suzume has, unwittingly, set in motion a catastrophic chain of events that involves a talking cat named Daijin opening identical doors across Japan… so that a giant worm may cause cataclysms in the real world. could enter to cause an earthquake.
He is not everything; The only person who can help Suzume reverse this drama – the stranger is revealed to be a “closer” named Sōta Munakata (he basically follows these portals and closes them). – has been transformed into an inexplicably three-legged chair (!) by the seemingly-evil Daijin.
A scene from ‘Suzum’
so just like mitsuha Your name and hina inside weathering with youIn , we have a young heroine fighting the turmoil within herself, suddenly thrown into a fantasy adventure, in which the fate of the world hangs in the balance. So Suzume and Sōta (still mourning over their chair avatar) embark on a whirlwind journey across Japan – in cars, trains and ships – to stop the daijin from wreaking havoc and causing natural disasters. Trying to close the doors first.
It totally makes for a sight to behold. The world-building backdrop is littered with the dazzling visuals of sunlight, clouds and raindrops that Shinaki and his team are so famous for, and their mastery of light and shadow remains as mesmerizing as ever.
Suzum
director: Makoto Shinkai
voice cast: Nanoka Hara, Hokuto Matsumura, Eri Fukatsu, Koshiro Matsumoto, Shota Sometani, Sairi Ito
Order: 122 minutes
Story: A 17-year-old girl teams up with a mysterious stranger to close doors from another dimension that are causing natural
The narrative intersperses with everyday people, buildings, greenery and even landmarks like Mount Fuji, even as we are introduced to an eclectic group of supporting characters who make the journey more colourful. They make up: Suzume’s Aunt Tamaki, Tamaki’s co-worker Minoru who has a crush on him, Sōta’s friend Tomoya and her red convertible, as well as the local bar owner Rumi, her twins and the jolly patrons of the establishment.
Shinaki’s aim to highlight the beauty in the ordinary is genius, but Suzum – unlike his previous films – is at its best when, despite its serious undertones, it draws us in with its humour. Whether it’s the mischievous antics of the daijin, Sota the chair frantically chasing the cat on three legs across picturesque landscapes (the animation is stunning here), or Suzume’s slowly growing feelings for her chair-lover (even sitting on it once), Shinkai never fails to keep us happy. He is aided by frequent collaborators, the rock band Redwimps, and composer Kazuma Jinnouchi, who provide a mesmerizing background score.
A scene from ‘Suzum’
And again, several Miyazaki nods. The wide-eyed cat reminds of Jiji Kiki’s Delivery Service, The giant worm, inspired by the Japanese myth of the subterranean catfish Namazu, which thumps and shakes the earth whenever Lord Takemikazuchi lets his guard down, reminiscent of folklore spirited Away, While Sota’s transformation is, of course, a throwback from Sophie and Howl howl’s Moving Castle, heck, there’s even a side-character directly mentioning whisper of the Heart,
Finally, an eerie resemblance to Netflix’s sci-fi drama stranger things and its heroine eleven, A parallel dimension filled with ghostly debris and mayhem is named the Ever-After and can be replaced with the Upside-Down; It also features a monster lurking in the shadows struggling to escape the portal, while our teen hero fights to bring it down.
Still, at every point, Shinkai lays claim to its signature look on the visuals and plot, though it unexpectedly pulls in a few places without focus. You also miss his trademark pathos and romanticism, but then comes an emotional sucker punch that more than makes up for it – and how.
no match for the raw beauty of garden of words (still Shinkai’s most grounded, seminal work) or dramatic beats Your name, Suzume’s themes of a coming-of-age journey — coupled with the emotional and physical healing that survivors of natural disasters face — make it a worthy successor to the director’s previous blockbusters.
a girl and a chair fall for each other while chasing a talking cat; what’s not to love?
Suzume no Tojimari is currently playing in theaters