Your Name
Year: 2016
Director: Makoto
Shinkai
Rating: 8.0
The animation in this film is enthralling
and dazzling. Nothing flashy or imaginative in the way of LovingVincent
or Princess Kaguya, but spectacularly detailed with colors that eat away
at your soul. One scene in which a few of the characters take a walk through
the woods to visit a temple full of colored leaves with the sun breaking
through the trees is just stunning. The panoramic shots of Tokyo are remarkable
as well. But great animation without a story is just that - great animation
- but director Makoto Shinkai delivers a heart rendering film that will leave
a lump or two in your throat. Very powerful. Strange to me when animation
affects me this way - they are cartoon characters - with simple cartoon faces
- but every now and then they can burrow a hole into your emotional core.
This was a huge hit in Japan - not only
the highest grossing anime but the highest grossing Japanese film of all
time. I have to imagine that lots of people went to see it multiple times.
Seeing this on the big screen would be wonderful. There is so much to praise
here - not just the strange story that climaxes like a quiet thunderclap
but all the atmosphere that surrounds it. The traditions, the temples, the
rituals, the grandmother taking her two grandchildren for that walk through
the woods, the friendships, the longing and the stunning rendering of the
worlds the characters live in. If you watch the animation, there is so much
going on in every shot - shadows changing, raindrops falling, people in the
background going about their business. And attention is paid to the smallest
of things - a soda can being opened or a teddy bear in a bedroom.
Falling stars and a winsome wish get the
narrative started. Mitsuha is a teenage school girl living in a small rural
town feeling as if the world is passing her by and so she wishes she could
be a boy in Tokyo. Suddenly, she begins randomly exchanging bodies with Taki,
a teenager in Tokyo. Initially, this is incredibly confusing as they try
to fit into school in each other's body and wonder if they are just dreaming
this. As they figure out what has happened they have to leave notes for the
other as to what they did while possessing their body. Taki finds himself
going on a date with a girl he had a crush on - all arranged by Mitsuha while
in his body. But slowly the inevitable happens and they become drawn to one
another and Taki wants to meet - but Mitsuha goes silent and their body switching
stops. With his memories of her town he goes looking for her. That is when
it gets really strange and powerful. And wonderful. This is special. I see
that this got a release in the USA and did ok - $5 million - I am surprised
to some degree because it feels so Japanese that I don't think it would translate
all that well to American audiences - no action, no cuddly animals, no technology,
no super heroes - just a love story across time and space. Seen in the Japanese
language version.
