Part fantasy, part road trip, and part coming-of-age, Suzume is a rich and fast-paced tale with no dull moments in between. The energy is relentless and the animation, as expected, is dazzling, so even though there are occasional plot holes and melodramatic reaches, you’d be hard-pressed not to forgive them. Suzume still wins you over. Of course, the fantastical aspects are what make Shinkai’s films his, but Suzume works best when it zeroes in on humans and their complicated feelings toward each other. The confrontation between Suzume and her aunt, where Suzume accuses her of suffocation and the aunt, in turn, laments the life she could’ve had if she wasn’t charged with caring for her dead sister’s daughter, is just as shattering as any scene involving slaying monsters or battling gods. I only wish there were more tender moments like this, but Suzume is just as endearing and entrancing all the same.
Genre: Adventure, Animation, Drama, Fantasy
Actor: Aimi, Akihiro Tajima, Ayumi Tsuji, Eri Fukatsu, Genta Nakamura, Hokuto Matsumura, Kana Hanazawa, Katsumi Fukuhara, Kyo Yaoya, Matsumoto Hakuō II, Nanoka Hara, Ryoko Nagata, Ryunosuke Kamiki, Sairi Ito, Saori Seto, Shota Sometani, Tomomichi Nishimura, Yoji Ueda, Yoshino Aoyama, Yuu Ayase
Director: Makoto Shinkai