Suzume, 2023.
Directed by Makoto Shinkai
Starring Nanoka Hara, Hokuto Matsumura, Eri Fukatsu, Kôshirô Matsumoto, Shôta Sometani, Sairi Itô, Kotone Hanase, Kana Hanazawa, Ryunosuke Kamiki, Ann Yamane, Akari Miura, and Aimi Terakawa
SYNOPSIS:
As the skies turn red and the planet trembles, Japan stands on the brink of disaster. However, a determined teenager named Suzume sets out on a mission to save her country. Able to see supernatural forces that others cannot, it’s up to her to close the mysterious doors that are spreading chaos across the land. A perilous journey awaits as the fate of Japan rests on her shoulders.
Stepping through a door into the world of Makoto Shinkai you are guaranteed that beautiful blue colour palette, those light refractions dancing in the sky and upon the sea, and a story imbued with a big beating heart. Now the visionary director of Your Name and Weathering with You has taken those familiar elements and weaved them into a truly epic through-the-looking-glass adventure which might very well be his best yet.
A Wizard of Oz template means that Suzume is essentially a road-movie, with our titular protagonist making an instinctive decision to follow a strange boy through a mysterious door, which triggers world-changing events and a meet-the-gang narrative that leads to her travelling Japan with a talking stool and an obnoxious cat, all in order to prevent a giant worm from causing a catastrophic earthquake that will kill millions of people.
If that sounds bonkers and potentially alienating, then fear not, because this story is one painted with a level of care and sincerity that immediately grounds the film. Such an approach means that you’re as fully invested in the fate of a three-legged stool during one of the film’s thrilling action sequences, as you are that of our protagonists come the emotional gut-punch of the finale.
It also helps that the roll-call of characters are such interesting and unique creations to spend time with. Sensibly transforming the wonderfully-coiffed but rather bland love-inetrest into a wooden chair is a masterstroke that allows for some lovely comedic touches, as well as adding some real pathos that runs parallel with Suzume’s own mysterious past. Then there’s Daijin, the selfie-loving cat who crops up occasionally to taunt our heroes on their ecological adventure, who steals the film with every utterance, comedic or otherwise.
It’s such a rich tapestry of story-telling that attention to detail and resonant plot-beats are also afforded to the peripheral characters and those that Suzume meets along the way. Her relationship with her auntie, and a couple of small vignettes in which she spends time with different families, all contain more emotional heft than most movies manage for their entire duration.
As for the girl with her name above the door, it’s refreshing that Suzume’s driving force isn’t just love. Sure, it’s a key component of her story, but Shinkai has mastered that in his previous two anime epics, so it takes a back seat to what’s ultimately a journey about searching for identity, self-worth, and coming to terms with your past.
It’s testament to the strength of the story and how quickly you get caught up in the propulsive road-trip aspect of the narrative that mentioning the breath-taking animation feels like an afterthought, but it’ll be a challenge to find something as visually creative as this all year. From the unique sight of watching a high-speed pursuit between a girl, a cat, and a piece of furniture turn out to be one of the best chase sequences since The French Connection, to the truly epic final set-piece in which Shinkai orchestrates so many moving parts towards a crescendo of emotional and narrative pay-off.
Suzume works on multiple levels; as an eco-fable about not only our own personal legacies, but the one we leave behind for generations-to-come, or simply as a rollicking good action-adventure. Either way Makoto Shinkai’s epic is an utterly thrilling piece of big-screen story-telling.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Matt Rodgers – Follow me on Twitter @mainstreammatt
