Review of Suzume

Look, I also like walking chairs. I love unexpected jazz outbursts, and yes, you can always wake me up for another stubborn and strong female protagonist. Having said that: Suzume no Tojimari is a disappointing mess. One of the major flaws of the film was its lack of narrative coherence. While the protagonist follows clear landmarks throughout Japan, the plot meandered without any sense of direction. On top of that, we have poorly developed characters that lack any real depth or complexity. Why are these people so (un)involved in all of this? Only Shinkai seems to know - but he won't show us. It's true, Suzume noTojimari has its moments of visual splendour but - unlike Kimi no Na Wa - the movie fails to deliver a compelling narrative. Because of this, sitting through its 2-and-a-half-hour runtime (!) becomes a ridiculous chore that never manages to properly round up.