Suzume Should Not Be Missed! Review Roundup

A certain plumber may have the animated film industry in a chokehold at the moment, but there exist other great movies releasing. One such is the incredibly talented Makoto Shinkai's SUZUME. Shinkai gave us the excellent 'Your Name' and 'Weathering With You' movies, so it was unlikely 'Suzume' would not be of similar ilk. But is it Shinkai's best work yet? Here's what the critics had to say:  

ROGEREBERT.COM (Brian Tallerico)
'Ultimately, “Suzume” is another film whose success hinges on how it makes macro issues into micro ones. It’s a hero’s journey in a sense and a story of a national fear of tremors, but it’s also just about a young woman whose life has been a series of disasters and how she comes to terms with her past, present, and future. It just happens to be with the help of a talking chair, a magical cat, and a door to a parallel dimension. Shinkai’s work is so heartfelt in the way he weaves his deeply empathetic themes through sun-kissed visuals. Like the best animated filmmakers, we see the magic in what he does. And we also see ourselves.'

For the full review please visit here.

EMPIRE ONLINE (Jake Cunningham)
'Although potentially maudlin, Suzume is an amazingly entertaining epitaph, its unlikely three-legged hero always on hand to provide perfectly-timed comic relief. Funny, frantic and emotionally attuned, even once the chair has long run off-screen, it remains a film to sit with.'

For the full review please visit here.

INVERSE (RAFAEL MOTAMAYOR)
'Every project Shinkai has worked on, from his short films to his blockbuster successes, deal with some sense of loss and decay — that which you hold dear slowly disappearing. Though Suzume may be a lot to handle at times, and its blend of tones may be too much for some audiences, if you are in its wavelength, the movie results in the culmination of Shinkai's work, and his most personal project to date.'

For the full review please visit here.

VARIETY (Peter Debruge)
'Structured as a road movie, “Suzume” invites audiences on a tour of Japan, bypassing familiar landmarks, like Mount Fuji, to concentrate on places that represent the country’s endangered heritage — each cloud and ruin lovingly rendered to deliver the soul-nourishing charge of a real-world sunset. So, come for Shinkai’s skies, stay for the feels. At first, the film may seem like little more than a succession of door-slamming showdowns, but in the end, Suzume has something more profound to say … to her younger self. It’s an emotional payoff to an epic personal journey in which learning to cope is key. In “Suzume,” healing proves more important than preventing disaster.'

​For the full review please visit here.

LITTLE WHITE LIES (ALICIA HADDICK)
'Suzume offers the fluid and detailed animation fans like myself have come to expect from the most beloved name working in anime today, and its seamless integration of CG and traditional animation for Sota’s chair form is a genuine triumph. Yet for a director whose career has centered human connection at every turn to create some of the most vulnerable and emotional stories on romance and human connection within the field of Japanese animation, it feels like a rare misfire. After a third strike at working through his emotions towards the national grief of 3.11, maybe it’s time to rebuild for something greater.'

For the full review please visit here.

MAMA'S GEEKY (VIDEO REVIEW)

​In the end, the film amassed an excellent score of 95% from 63 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Suzume is now one of the year's highest-rated films despite also being one of its least popular. Shinkai's previous film, 'Your Name', was a masterpiece, and with this film, it is clear the fame Japanese film-maker hasn't lost his lustre.  

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