Director: Makoto Shinkai

Screenplay: Makoto Shinkai

Music: RADWIMPS, Kazuma Jinnouchi

Director: Makoto Shinkai

Character Design: Masayoshi Tanaka

Art Director: Takumi Tanji

Animation Director: Kenichi Tsuchiya

Producer: Kouichirou Itou, Genki Kawamura

Licensed by: Crunchyroll

Awards won:

• Ryuu Masayuki for best music – Japan Academy Prize

Nominations:

• The Golden Bear Award for participation in the main contest – Berlinale
• Ryuu Masayuki for best animated film – Japan Academy Prize

In a small, peaceful town on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu, 17-year-old Suzume has lived with her aunt ever since she lost her mother as a little girl. One day on her way to school, she meets a mysterious¹ young man named Souta, who is in search of a door. She follows him into the mountains and finds a dilapidated² old door standing alone among ruins. On impulse, Suzume turns the handle, and at once sets free all the calamities³ the portal was meant to contain. All around Japan other doors open, threatening the population unaware⁴ of the looming danger. Together, Suzume and Souta set out on a journey to close them all again.

One can be sure that Shinkai will strive⁵ to improve the visuals with each successive film. It’s what made people notice his work in the first place, and he still has a knack for intricate, detailed landscapes and impressive effects. The characters are quite abstract in comparison, but this makes all their movements more refined. A great example is the little chair, which turns into a full-fledged⁶ supporting character. Although there isn’t much to do here, Shinkai managed to add a lot of life to this inanimate⁷ object. This is no easy feat⁸. Suzume is undoubtedly one of Shinkai’s best visually realized films, although it lacks the element of surprise that distinguished his earlier works. The soundtrack is very solid, with some interesting choices along the way, but it lacks cohesion and feels more like a collection of different influences than a standalone work. Traces of Ghost in the Shell / Kenji Kawai can be found here, emphasizing the mysteriousness of the fantasy elements, while the jazzy soundtrack under the action scenes reminded me more of the film Lupin III. The music itself is very good and adds character to the scenes, but the fact that it is too reminiscent⁹ of other films makes it difficult for Suzume to find its own unique identity.

Suzume teaches its viewers the value of life – that even the flimsiest things mean as much as the consequential ones. The film helps people understand how crucial it is to value each moment that passes down one’s life because no matter how insignificant¹⁰ it might seem, it makes life worth living.

WORDBANK:

¹ mysterious – tajemniczy

² dilapidated – zniszczony

³ calamities – klęski

⁴ unaware – nieświadomy

⁵ strive – starać się

⁶ full-fledged – w pełni rozwinięty, dojrzały

⁷ inanimate – nieożywiony

⁸ no easy feat – nie lada wyczyn

⁹ reminiscent – przypominający

¹⁰ insignificant – nieistotny

2022/2023 © Dominika Lange, II rok, Bezpieczeństwo wewnętrzne, Akademia Nauk Stosowanych w Koninie

Photo taken from Source 1