Review of Suzume

Now this is a truly NEW Shinkai work. I’m an adamant hater of the exceptionally stupid critique that Shinkai is “only capable of remaking the same film”, but I can’t deny that after the success of 2016’s brilliant Your Name, his follow up film Weathering With You did at times feel like a shallow imitation of his masterpiece, although I still have a special place in my heart for anything Shinkai touches. In Suzume however, for the first time I think Shinkai has finally achieved the perfect compromise; it’s almost completely narratively/tonally distinct from his other works, while also clearly retaining its identity as aShinkai film, also providing a tight, consistent narrative. Whereas Children Who Chase Lost Voices largely failed as Shinkai’s first significant departure from his traditional style, here we have a film which contains enough idiosyncrasies to satisfy most diehard Shinkai fans like myself, but also has a more widespread appeal that’s even inclusive of those who may not like Shinkai’s filmography.

What else can I say? The film is consistently fun and hits its emotional beats fairly well. Its reflection on 3/11 is poignant and eternally relevant. Taking aside its status as a Shinkai film, it’s also a very solid fantasy adventure story, and it’s always fun catching the staggering number of explicit Miyazaki references. I don’t think it’s quite up there with my absolute favourite of his works, but I didn’t come away with any feelings of disappointment. I’ll shamelessly love anything Shinkai creates, and Suzume is certainly no exception.