Suzume
written and directed by Makoto Shinkai
produced by CoMix Wave Films
2022
Suzume is an ordinary, orphaned, teenage schoolgirl being raised by her aunt in a town in Kyushu. She is plagued by nightmares of being a toddler and looking for her mom in the wreckage of her northern hometown in the aftermath of the 2011 tsunami. Her dreams are frightening and unpopulated (with one exception), and occur under a gorgeous and slightly surreal night sky.
One day on the way to school, a stranger appears, asking if there are any abandoned ruins with doors nearby. Suzume directs him to an abandoned onsen, and later tries find him: while there, she discovers and opens door to another world with a sky similar to that of her nightmares. She also handles a sculpture that comes to life and runs off.
So begins Suzume’s coming of age story, which sees her run away from her slightly resentful & overprotective aunt to save the world by performing ritual closings of abandoned places in order to prevent disasters. She is accompanied by the stranger, Souta, a man-turned-into-her-childhood-chair whose family has traditionally prevented disasters through rituals with a special key. Souta also wants to reclaim his human body and force a sculpture-turned-cat to resume its obligations in disaster prevention.
The story reflects the sorrow of the aftermath of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, the mystery of how and why such disasters happen, the author’s sense that it is strange to celebrate founding places but not leaving them, and the strain of the global COVID-19 pandemic. The story is beautifully animated, with special attention to water, reflections, and backgrounds; the shades of blue are especially stunning. There is well-integrated CGI for 3-D effects. The locks / keyholes are animated in a pretty way. The kindness of people to each other and Suzume is pleasing; the heroine has an easy time finding assistance from others, especially women. The romance element feels abrupt, but is in its early stages, so is plausible that it is just the idea of a romance created through shared extreme experiences.
I’ve read that this film is similar to the author’s earlier and more famous works, Your Name and Weathering With You, with some commentary that the one or the other of these works is better. I’ve heard positive things about both, and will eventually watch to compare them.
Overall: this is an especially pretty film about a teenager running off to save the world – with a good theme song! I enjoyed the quality of the animation.