Suzume
Suzume is as much a film as a memorial for a traumatised land. In it Japan is a place where gods rage beneath the surface, breaking the earth and churning the sea. Its titular character travels across the nation to places where natural disaster has left deep but mundane scars. A road movie almost - Suzume herself goes to so-called "lonely places" and listens to the memories of people who used to inhabit them. These memories manifest as a chorus of simple good mornings, how are yous and see yas but the film is evocative in how moving it is to experience groups of people who once just lived together and are now lost to time and circumstance.
It has some supernatural stuff too - talking cats, mystical doorways and suchlike - but its on-the-sleeve Ghibli references deem these signifiers and plot propellants rather than the main event. This really is a film about personal and national loss. It’s also about connection and the generosity of open-hearted people. Death is accepted unflinchingly because it always seems so possible. Its characters live life accordingly - with vigour and good humour - because it’s the only real way to face such fragility head on.
In as much as it’s worth mentioning Miyazaki, it’s to say Shinkai, now more than ever, is a significantly more mature writer/director than that grumpy old fuck. There’s cruel honesty from Shinkai’s characters that is regretfully expressed in haste but owned up to later, with patience and understanding from those who may otherwise have been hurt. Miyazaki may always be a master of rich fantasy and evocative themes but Shinkai simply understands people better and his characters are significantly more relatable. Maybe the discourse will progress to comparing him more to Koshifumi Kondō or Isao Takahata now, if we’re lucky. Regardless, Suzume is a worthwhile film on its own merits and should be seen. I liked it a lot, folks!