Luke McWilliams gives his review of the Japanese animated film, Suzume, written and directed by Makoto Shinkai.
A lonely child wanders through a wasteland in search of her mother. Suddenly, 17-year-old Suzume Iwato (Nanoka Hara) wakes from her dream in Kyushu, Japan, and greets her maternal aunt before heading off to high school. On the way, Suzume meets the handsome Sōta Munakata (Hokuto Matsumura) who asks her where he might find some abandoned ruins. After pointing him to an area, Suzume follows him, only to find a lone, open doorframe with a starlit field through its doorway.
Makoto Shinkai’s Your Name (2016) was an emotional and beautifully designed animated fantasy adventure featuring star-crossed lovers who, although separated by great distance, eventually fall in love after experiencing the other’s life via inexplicable supernatural body swaps. Weathering with You (2019) was perhaps a little too similar in structure, especially its emotional third-act payoff. Here, similar ground is covered with more than a liberal dashing of Studio Gibli’s (Spirited Away) penchant for a sprawling Alice in Wonderland-like journey coupled with quirky sidekicks, here taking the form of a child’s chair and a talking cat.
Suzume’s hero’s journey leads her around Japan to divert supernatural disasters with the help of a growing cast of characters. The adventure kickstarts Suzume’s adolescence: her growing independence from her aunt, a burgeoning first crush, and an opportunity to heal her inner child by learning to close some doors while choosing to open some others.
Verdict: A wonderful, awe-inspiring, and creative adventure filled with heart that swells and soars like a Shinkai film should. 4 stars.
- Luke McWilliams, themovieclub.net.
