Suzume

 

• genre: urban fantasy, drama, probably romance
• length: 121 minutes

ever since the release of suzume, people have been referring to the recent shinkai films (your name, weathering with you and suzume) as his "disaster trilogy". to be clear, these 3 films do not relate to each other in any way and are independent stories. it's just mitsuha from your name looks incredibly similar to suzume from suzume that i could not tell them apart at first glance.

to be completely honest, the "disaster trilogy" all feel the same to me. when your name was released in cinemas, i even watched twice and i could not comprehend why do people like it so much as i did not understand where it is supposed to be touching. weathering with you just felt like a completed story without any remarkable points to me, and suzume feels the same too.

suzume follows our main girl suzume going on a road trip from southern to northern japan in order to close doors that would give out earthquakes if they are left open. as it is a road trip film, the bonding between the characters is definitely not the main point of the story, rather suzume's personal development and how she grows out of her past trauma.

is suzume a good film? yes, every single background shown can be used as your wallpaper, the main plot feels smooth, and if you dig deeper into it, you will find out that it contains a lot of references to real events that happened in japan.

the main problem i have with suzume is pretty much the same problem i have with the other 2 from the "disaster trilogy" - it feels like it's supposed to make people cry, but i don't see where it is supposed to be touching at all. like maybe the last bit when suzume learns to accept her past made some people cry, but i just did not feel anything over it.

the key takeaway after watching suzume though, is that remember to close your doors after opening one. honestly, everything could have been prevented if she just closed the door after going through the first door she saw in her hometown, miyazaki. but i guess this statement is pretty much the same as "just don't go into the haunted place" for a horror movie lol.

also, until this day i still do not understand why do japanese animated films are so obsessed with finding non-professional voice actors to voice the main characters just for them to sound "natural". although the overall voice acting for the main characters in suzume is fine, there are still moments that i feel like someone who lacks experience would bring me out of the feeling - for example the main guy yelling "dammit" (or "kuso" in japanese), every "dammit" feels the same. at some bits, it just feels like both characters are putting too much energy into lines that are supposed to sound softer.

and the regional accent of suzume's aunt just feels relaxing to hear for some reason.

(unrelated but the day after i finished watching suzume in cinemas, something happened in my personal life that i, just like suzume, stepped out from my past issues too. the moment just feels like i am putting that it back into where it belongs, and locking up the door as i yell the long af spell. that's why i made this post as i feel like sharing this coincidence lol.)