Film Review: "Suzume" ("すずめの戸締まり") (2022).

From the director of Your Name (君の名は) and Weathering with You (天気の子) comes Suzume (すずめの戸締まり). This Japanese animated fantasy adventure film written and directed by Makoto Shinkai. The film is a coming-of-age story for the seventeen-year-old protagonist, Suzume, set in various disaster-stricken locations across Japan, where she must close the doors causing devastation. Suzume’s journey begins in a quiet town in Kyushu (located in southwestern Japan) when she encounters a young man who tells her, "I’m looking for a door." What Suzume finds is a single weathered door standing upright in the midst of ruins as though it was shielded from whatever catastrophe struck. Seemingly drawn by its power, Suzume reaches for the knob… Doors begin to open one after another all across Japan, unleashing destruction upon any who are near. Suzume must close these portals to prevent further disaster.

Shinkai conceived the idea for the film while he was traveling around Japan to give talks about his past works. Shinkai noticed that there were more empty or abandoned areas in Japan due to the country's declining birth rate and aging population, so he thought of writing a story about "mourning deserted places." As a result, the film inevitably turned into a road movie about visiting places. The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami served as an influence for the themes in the film. Shinkai also cited Kiki's Delivery Service (1989), Guardian: The Lonely and Great God (2016-17), and Haruki Murakami's novel Kafka on the Shore (2002) and short story Kaeru-kun, Tokyo o Sukuu as influences for the film. From January to March 2020, Shinkai and his staff planned the project. In April, they started developing the film's script, which is when the Japanese government declared a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In an interview with TV Asahi, Shinkai mentioned that the pandemic had a less tangible effect on the film's production. After finishing the script in August, the storyboards were drafted from September to December 2021. In April 2021, the production of the animation started. In mid December, the film was officially unveiled during a press conference. In late September 2022, it was announced that the band Radwimps would be composing the score for the film, along with composer Kazuma Jinnouchi. By late October, Nanoka Hara, Hokuto Matsumura, Eri Fukatsu, Shota Sometani, Sairi Ito, Kotone Hanase, Kana Hanazawa, Matsumoto Hakuō II, Ryūnosuke Kamiki, Ann Yamane, and Aimi were cast.

The film stars the voice talents of Hara, Matsumura, Fukatsu, Sometani, Ito, Hanase, Hanazawa, Hakuō II, Kamiki, Yamane, and Aimi. Thanks to Shinkai and the talented voice cast, the characters' personalities, expressions and movements really pop - it's tough to imagine this story told in any other medium.

The film may have too many elements in common with Your Name and Weathering with You, but it's a gorgeous movie with magnificent visuals and music.

Simon says Suzume (すずめの戸締まり) receives:

Also, see my review for Weathering with You (天気の子).