Review Of Suzume No Tojimari Movie, A Comedy And Bone-Piercing Sense Of Loss

JAKARTA - Still not tired of trying out other themes for fantasy anime movies, again the work of filmmaker Makoto Shinkai never seems to fail, just like his latest film Suzume No Tojimari (Suzume).

Quoted from ANTARA, with a storyline that flows smoothly, Suzume feels much lighter than Makoto's previous two movies Kimi No Nawa (Your Name) and Weathering With You.

In the opening, it depicts a little girl named Suzume in 2011 who is desperately looking for her missing mother. She was then helped by a kind young woman, but her face has not been seen.

The movie then switches to the present, in Kyushu, a large island in southwestern Japan. 17-year-old Suzume lives with her aunt Tamaki, a loving and slightly protective person.

Still dealing with trauma and natural disasters, two things that are again standard in the anime by Makoto Shinkai, Suzume meets a man named Souta who is busy looking for an old door that was left in ruins.

Not just any door, that door is a gate that can make Japan and the whole earth ravaged by a terrible earthquake. That old door is also the key to saving mankind from annihilation.

As it turns out, this mysterious man is tasked with keeping the disaster from happening. Inherited from generation to generation, Souta is the caretaker for all the doors that are the access and origins of the destruction.

However, bad things happened when Souta was cursed to become a wooden chair. The small chair, which became Souta's body, was missing a leg, leaving Souta overwhelmed to carry out his duties as gatekeeper. This chair has a relationship with Suzume and her mother.

Souta, who is finally helped by Suzume, followed by Daijin, an adorable cat but also mischievous, mysterious, and has a secret intention, becomes the wall of this movie.

On her way, Suzume accidentally opens a portal that allows destructive beings from another world to enter causing earthquakes. The door that opens must be closed to prevent the disaster that lies on the other side. This is where Suzume's "door-closing journey" begins.

Emotional pulse game

Packaged with a current time setting, Suzume movie is very relatable to the audience. During her journey, Suzume relies heavily on a number of applications such as social media Instagram to Google Maps.

Some of these small examples, indeed, because Makoto Shinkai often offers a blend of his typical fantasy, with realism in people's everyday events.

Even though your stomach often tickles with laughter from Suzume's deep comedy, a deep sense of loss also feels like it stabs you to the bone.

The fact that character Suzume (voiced in the original Japanese version by Nanoka Hara) lost her mother in the 2011 earthquake-tsunami that killed nearly 20,000 people and led to the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster.

Not surprisingly, when watching Suzume, the audience in the theater laughed, and burst into tears afterwards.

Spectacular Graphics

For 121 minutes, the audience will be spoiled by Makoto Shinkai's beautiful visuals with the 'road movie' concept, which will take us to explore Japan from the urban atmosphere, mountains, forests, to darkness.

Moreover, when watching this movie in the cinema, the beauty of the animation that looks in the real world is displayed more widely, plus the experience of humming sound effects.

Suzume movie has also succeeded in making the heart stop praising the visual beauty of nature that is presented, soothing the mind like looking at a moving painting.

The beautiful chants of the Japanese band, Radwimps, also support the beautiful storyline.

Character recognition that needs to be explored

There is one thing that is found in Suzume movie, namely the introduction of characters that are less explored and the protagonist's chemistry that seems effortless.

A series of protagonists appear in the story, helping Suzume and Souta on their mission journey. However, Suzume's closeness to these supporting figures seems too easy to reach without the need for a meaningful approach.

However, this can be a subjective assessment. Even beyond that, things that cannot also be said to be flawed are still acceptable, and not at the stage of making the story "holes" as if there are parts missing.

This story is still very fun to enjoy. The stories that are presented are so beautiful, it becomes interesting to know more about the stories of the protagonists.

That's the only aspect that is felt to have a note, the rest of this movie is superior in terms of story packaging to spectacular graphics. Not surprisingly, this movie topped the Japanese Box Office rankings and received 1.33 million viewers in the first three days of its broadcast at the end of last year.

Suzume also succeeded in becoming the second anime movie to be entered into the Berlin Film Festival 2023 competition after “Spirited Away”.

Became a major hit locally following its November 2022 release which grossed over $100 million, making Suzume the fourth highest-grossing movie of 2022 in Japan.

Suzume has been shown on the big screen in the country starting March 8, 2023. You will feel a much different experience if you watch it at home than in the cinema, considering that Makoto Shinkai's unique visual beauty is still being maintained. Suzume is a movie that remains interesting when watched more than once.