Makoto Shinkai's 5 Centimeters per Second (2007) is the culmination of the director's career. His lyrical storytelling and mouth-watering visuals come together seamlessly in this sad and melancholic love story.
The fragile main characters reach for love, but they face difficulties as alienation, melancholy, distance and longing come in their way. The bittersweet ending montage summarizes the film's idea in a stunning way. The film consists of three short stories that focus around one main character during his youth. Each segment calmly gathers tension that is often subverted to make the melancholic tone more tangible.
Shinkai's breathtaking background art, fascinating compositions and lyrical editing give the film a poignancy that is hard to achieve in cinema - especially with the running time of only a single hour. The voice acting should also be praised because it carries the film so well. The childlike innocence of the first segment is especially tangible through the soft and charming performances.
5 Centimeters per Second is an incredibly touching and gorgeous film that I like to return to once in a while - even if only to watch a few clips from here and there.
Score: 10 out of 10
Yes, yes. I never thought I'd ever be so moved be sheer "glint". The consistency of the pink/yellow style is impressive.
ReplyDeletethe best movie I've ever seen in my life
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