I feel like I’ve seen live action versions of this mystical, supernatural, body-swapping elegiac romance but animating it somehow makes the sentimentality more palatable. Also, let’s be fair, it makes it gorgeous to look at. There’s a lot going on here under its slightly twee premise — an attempt perhaps to grapple with a troubled 20th century — and the storytelling is quite dense (a lot of play on language means subtitles at the top and bottom of the screen at times), but it creates a wonderful atmosphere.
(PS Also, yes, the full stop is part of the film’s title.)
CREDITS
Director/Writer Makoto Shinkai 新海誠 (based on his novel); Starring Ryunosuke Kamiki 神木隆之介, Mone Kamishiraishi 上白石萌音; Length 107 minutes.
Seen at Odeon Panton Street, London, Monday 2 January 2017.
filmcentric 