Here be spoilers. Though its just a memory some memories last forever. Lakeside Park Rush 600https://ur.com/9T8Rbnn.png What connects people through time? Heres a suggestion: memories. Memories of the days you spent together right? If I look at a photo on the mantel of my friends from high school a lot of things flash into my mind and most of them are memories. Makoto Shinkai is a filmmaker very much concerned with memory and connection. This movies an exploration of those basic themes. But also at stake are things like the interaction between friendship and time. Things like longing and things like love. Make no mistake this is an emotionally mature movie. And I think one worth watching. By the end of this review I hope that youll agree with me. And if you dont? Oh well. Nothing ventured nothing gained. I always have the feeling that Im about to lose something Story and Characters 600https://ur.com/icaWlh4.png The story such as it is is frequently confused but always minimally comprehensible. It may have been just me and I suspect it was at least slightly contributed to by the insufficient character designs but at times I forgot who the two main male characters were or confused them for the other. With that said the best part of this movie by far is the first thirty minutes or so before the timeskip. I want to be clear: this movies biggest shortcoming by far is its characters. If you cannot tell two of the main characters apart that is a serious problem. Especially when theres only three. I appreciate the attempt to keep the setting grounded by not surrendering to the temptation to have wacky character designs but given that the setting is hard scifi every other line is technobabble and the plane looks like it should be completely unable to fly especially because there are modern plane designs as well this is perhaps an acceptable line to cross. The first part of this movie is fantastically atmospheric and evocative and its somewhat of a letdown to see it collapse to a sort of generic scifi plot near the middle. Near the end though theres some wonderful sound design and cutting to underscore the climax of the movie and in the middle theres a dream sequence between I think Hiroki and Sayuri where their hands touch in a manner which will remind anyone whos seen Your Name of that movies climatic Katawaredoki scene which is exceptional if not quite as good as Your Names iteration on it. On the whole Id say the story does what it needs to in this movie. Its not boring by any means but its definitely slowpaced and not as tight as some of Shinkais later work. However it delivers the characters to the situations and backgrounds where Shinkais real expertise shines and Im always impressed by Shinkais eye for the quiet little moments in the middle of celestial beauty. Thematically its fine I guess. Shinkai does literally spell out that the Tower represents what people want which would have been best left silent since it was extremely obvious from the shot framing and the way in which its referred to in the dialogue. The scent of a different universe Art Animation Direction 600https://ur.com/8piPqrF.png This is a very red movie as opposed to Shinkais usual blue or green. Thats because the sun seems to always be setting when its not straight overhead which lends a rather sad feeling to the whole piece and a sense of ineluctable slipping from connection. Theres less control over colour as there might be in some of Shinkais later work but theres still some very impressively composed shots mainly with some sort of celestial beauty behind with the characters in the bottom third of frame. That kind of composition is common to almost all of Shinkais work and it always serves the function of minimising the characters and foregrounding the backgrounds a wise choice when youre as good as backgrounds as Shinkai is. Makoto Shinkais strength as a filmmaker has always been how good he is at establishing tone and the set of moody and wideangle shots that he strings together to evoke youth are very impressively done. Whilst theres slight overuse of fade transitions its hard to deny the nostalgic beauty and slight tinges of magical realism to the early shots in the movie especially those involving the tower. The best part of this film as I said earlier is definitely the first part of it where all these strengths congeal together to create a feeling of longing that anchors the rest of the movie in reality. The character animation sometimes leaves a little to be desired but there are some very solid wave and explosion effects and its definitely a lot better than some of Shinkais other work and characters have very defined visual personalities. Tangent: I really enjoyed the visual quote of a shot from End of Evangelion near the very end. Youll know what it is when you see it. Those words had a strange effect on me. Music and Sound 600https://ur.com/UpnmU4A.png Sound ranges from sometimes slightly undermixed with soundscapes that feel a little flat to very good. Especially excellent is the way Shinkais mixing creates a feeling of detachment in the better scenes earlier and later where things that should be very quiet are loud and things that are loud quiet a way of reinforcing the ethereally unreal tone hes after. Tenmons soundtrack is mostly just OK but theres a heartbreaking little scene set to a technically diagetic? violin piece where we cut rapidly though an empty school and its hard not to feel a little surge of shivers down the spine as the piece swoops and soars. Ai Kawashimas closing song which also plays over the last few minutes is pretty good although it hasnt become as popular as some of the other songs Shinkais put in his movies. Its an emotionally fraught final 10 minutes punctuated well by the insert song. Shinkai has always had a good sense for rhythm in his movies specifically the rhythm between dialogue cuts and the music. That shouldnt be suprising since hes often maligned as a music video director but it serves him well here. ...as long as I dont lose those memories I think I might be able to keep a grip on reality in the future. Final Thoughts 600https://ur.com/iywfGk5.png This movie unlike any other in Shinkais ouevre really highlights where hes strong. It also highlights where hes weak. Where hes strong: in constructing tone and atmosphere and setting up for one perfect little moment with the interaction of light framing backgrounds and plot. Where hes weak: the dialogue is pretty clunky at times hes weak in establishing character less recently and hes weak in setting up a plot that fundamentally you buy into. But in this movie as opposed to some others Children Who Chase Lost Voices the scales are tipped I think toward good. This is a good movie but because Shinkais weaknesses are a foregrounded and b not as alleviated as elsewhere its not as good as it could be. But it is a movie that is worth watching not only if you are a Shinkai fanatic but also if you want to see what is more or less an elementally moving story. Because the last shot near the end where Hiroki walks away from the crumbling Tower as Ai Kawashimas voice rings out over Tenmons gentle strings and piano notes is exquisitely and genuinely touching. No matter how far I walk nobody appears. 600https://ur.com/Az8tRP9.png Pointy