Suzume

Makoto Shinkai is one of the “other guys” of Japanese animation – he’s not Hayao Miyazaki, in other words – and if it does nothing else, his movie Suzume demonstrates the vast amount of influence the director of Howl’s Moving Castle, Kiki’s Delivery Service, My Neighbour Totoro and Spirited Away still wields in that country, even though he officially retired ten years ago (only to resurface unexpectedly this year with The Boy and the Heron). Featuring a detail-rich story with a strong fantastical element and a resourceful young female protagonist who has somehow become separated from her parents, Suzume has many of the trappings of a Miyazaki movie. There’s even the outsize interest … Read more