The End of the World

[Categories: Anime Reviews]

5 Centimeters per Second: part 1

Posted by Martin  

The first time I watched this, I didn’t realise that the file I downloaded was a raw. As the old saying goes, a picture tells a thousand words so I got the general gist of what was going on. Then I downloaded a subbed version…it turned out to be a good way of watching this film since the visuals are so overwhelming it’s hard to concentrate on anything else the first time around.

I’ll admit right off that I’m a Makoto Shinkai nut (check the banner image!) so this will probably turn into a fanboy rave. Whatever. By his own standards this guy has still excelled himself visually with 5 Centimeters per Second: even if you skim over what I’ve written, please take the time to look at the screencaps. The attention to detail is staggering - it’s not so much photorealistic but better than a photograph.

The story is about love. Not just the care and passion that has gone into painting every frame, but the recurring theme of love, loss and loneliness that Shinkai returns to with all his films to date. Takaki and Akari have been best friends since elementary school but family circumstances mean that Akari moves away and Takaki has to endure months away from his sweetheart, followed by an arduous train journey in the snow to see her again.

That’s the story, anyway. It is not the plot that is so important in this film but the feelings it evokes. Those of us who are not sensitive to this sort of thing (this is the kind of film that awakens a sentimental side I never knew I had) will be rather bored but otherwise it is akin to a Haruki Murakami novel brought to life. The isolation, the pain, the hope and everything else are subtly but effectively conveyed in the simplest and most understated ways.

I suppose I had better add some negative criticism too. It’s not that the situation is more trivial and easy to overcome than those of Shinkai’s previous efforts - a train journey of a few miles in the snow can feel as impossible to overcome as the light years of space that separated the lovers in Voices of a Distant Star, for instance - but it feels as if we’re on very familiar ground. Granted, that ground looks as beautiful as anything I’ve seen, but it looks, sounds and feels too much like Voices… or Place Promised… to be nothing more than a straightforward continuation of what he’s done in the past. Even the music, as delightful as it is, sounds similar. I know Shinkai is a master at portraying love and loss that traverses time and space; what I’d like to see most of all is his attempt to try out new themes and ideas.

This is only the first part, of course, so there’s time yet for the story to develop. Already it’s proving to be a work of art visually, as well as being emotionally powerful - whether this promising young director will do something new or stick to the winning formula that has made him so well known and respected, I can’t say for sure yet. Either way, the opening part of 5 Centimeters per Second is absolutely stunning.

[Filed under Anime Reviews]  

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