Suzume

Makoto Shinkai's films all share an immersive, ever-intoxicating visual grandeur. His vivid animation style and meticulous attention to detail draw the viewer into a colourful otherworldly place. In Suzume, as in much of the filmmaker's work, this is both a blessing and a curse.

The film follows Suzume, a 17-year-old girl whose path crosses with Souta, a mysterious young man. Fascinated by his presence, she tries to chase him, but stumbles into a mysterious door in the middle of nowhere. She opens it and accidentally unleashes a series of earthquakes that endanger the population of Japan. From that moment Suzume embarks on a journey with Souta – who's now inexplicably transformed into a broken three-legged kids' chair – to close the remaining open doors.

Suzume is about earthquakes, not just literal ones, but also those felt internally during adolescence. Shinkai explores this interesting analogy to tell a story that undoubtedly bears his hallmark: it's epic, too long, and cheesy to the core; but it's also witty, and its lushly composed shots are often jaw-droppingly beautiful.

In Your Name, Shinkai found the perfect formula to captivate audiences worldwide with a romantic drama with fantastic overtones. Suzume follows this same path – and a very similar narrative structure. The film works thanks to its breathtaking visual display and diverting narrative, but it's hard not to miss the intimacy and narrative simplicity of Shinkai's earlier work. Even by touching on big themes such as loss, grief or self-discovery, its overloaded storytelling, ironically, makes Suzume feel somewhat empty.

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Released 14 Apr by Sony; certificate PG