Suzume, 17, lost her mother as a little girl. On her way to school, she meets a mysterious young man. But her curiosity unleashes a calamity that endangers the entire population of Japan, and so Su...
As my favorite animated film ever, the best I can describe Spirited Away is an ethereal, immersive, unforgettable experience that moves your soul to its limits and leaves you a changed person by the end. “Suzume” achieves those similar feats via different circumstances and a darker subtext but with the same amount of heart and wonder.
You know a film is a big deal to me when it almost gets me crying.
Everything about the presentation and the animation is oddly reminiscent of a Studio Ghibli film by design, evoking the feeling of realism while striking that contemporary balance between real-world imagery and otherworldly terror that only animation can pull off. The experimentation of crossing 2D and 3D pays dividends with the outstanding cinematography and editing capturing and morphing these picturesque frames around and his attention to detail helps conjure up a vivid sense of modern-day Japan.
Makoto Shinkai’s use of oversaturated colors and playing with lighting gives the natural setting and atmosphere of the story that otherworldly deep-seated metaphorical boost that his direction mostly buoys with little delay. Production design wonderfully encapsulates the worlds the characters find themselves in, the tone reflects that certain degree of random, twee energy in anime and momentum is never really something that’s taken away despite what I’ll say later. The music and score, in general, is cute but incredibly moving and exhilarating while leading us through the most rudimentary of stages and the characters come across as alive and independent with their own agency; most of that is thanks to the natural voice work and the dialogue, none of which bothered me this time.
Suzume, as a story, is one meant to be about self-sacrifice but it comes with its own share of baggage. Similar to “Your Name” and “Weathering With You”, it’s story weaves troubled teen romance and apocalyptic stakes together, thus turning young love into literally the most important thing in the world; but while the former has love avert the disaster and the latter be about learning to love in the face of said disaster, this one tries to have it both ways to mixed results. The main purpose of this film was to be an act of consolation and comfort for the victims of the Fukushima incident during the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. Yes, it uses that as a backdrop for its story but it is nothing but respectful towards that tragedy, using it to tell a uneven but beautiful story about overcoming loss that makes it easy to relate to the characters.
There’s also a magnificent show-don’t-tell visual storytelling method in highlighting the mundanities of contemporary life that makes the metaphors more direct and the pacing feel like smooth sailing…..most of the time. Not to mention it handles its mature themes of grief, loneliness and resentment impressively, showcasing how the passage of time doesn’t always lead to healing. It’s another hero’s journey tale, one that tackles how one has to come to terms with her past, present and future in a world where tomorrow is never guaranteed and you can lose anybody at any given time.
And yet despite all that, the formulaic elements to the plot structure (more specifically its familiar parallels to Shinkai’s other two films) hampers the emotional appeal of the story; not because it tries to have its cake and eat it too but because of how repetitive it gets. The film started to drag on in the middle and in places I didn’t expect to notice it; Shinkai’s direction often falters in regards to getting from Point A to B to the point where even the romance begins to feel slightly artificial than cute.
Some bits of the lore aren’t explained that well, there are a few plot points that are brought up but then aborted without explanation and the CG, while solid, doesn’t completely mesh with the traditional 2D animation all the time. Bits like that distract from the overall experience without completely pulling you out.
The more I ponder on it, the more I think of Suzume less like a movie and more like a beautiful consolation letter, as it’s real love story is less about Suzume and Souta but more with the stuff of everyday life, making it almost unbearably inviting and worth fighting for even if we lose it all.
