Following "Your Name" and "Children of the Weather", the latest work in the disaster trilogy directed by Makoto Shinkai, "Suzuya Journey", is a road movie that takes the audience through the beautiful places in Japan that have been devastated by earthquakes. At the same time, it is also a coming-of-age story, giving some warmth, hope, and strength to keep going for those who have encountered impermanence and sadness in disasters.
Look back on past road trips
As a hereditary gatekeeper, Kusanagi traveled all over Japan in order to close the "back door" that appeared in the ruins. These doors, which gradually open due to the lack of human suppression, are connected to the world known as the "permanent world", where the soul goes after death, and the space where underground forces called "earthworms" exist. Once the back door is left open for too long and not closed, the invisible earthworm will come from the ordinary world to the present world, and cause disasters that take countless lives.
The disaster caused by earthworms is actually an earthquake that we are not unfamiliar with, and Japan, which is also located at the junction of plates, has also been a country prone to earthquakes since ancient times. In order to prevent the earthquake, the ancestors of the gatekeeper inserted the "vital stone" that sealed the earthworm in two special places in the Japanese archipelago, but once the stone loosens under the struggle of the earthworm, people have to face another unprecedented earthquake.
In order to prevent this, Suzuya, a high school girl who is accidentally involved, and Kusata, who is cursed and turned into a chair, pursue the cat to be incarnated as a stone and embark on a closed journey across most of Japan. Departing from Miyazaki, where Suzuya lives, passing through Aiya, Kobe, Tokyo, and Miyagi, the final destination of this journey is Suzuya's hometown and the worst hit place in the 311 Great East Japan Earthquake.
During this trip, Suzuya met many warm-hearted and kind people, and also started a conversation with her aunt who took care of her since childhood. In the process of closing the door, she must face her past self and try to get out of the shadow brought by the disaster.
Strung together people's painful memories
As an animation director, Makoto Shinkai has often focused on love in his past works. Whether it is "Five Centimeters Per Second" or "The Garden of Words" for which he became famous, or the first two works of the disaster trilogy "Your Name" and "Children of the Weather", they all bring out their classic love stories with beautiful pictures and soundtracks. However, in "Journey to the Bell Bud", he began to reflect on what more profound things he could achieve with his work as an animation director.
This film, which focuses on the common trauma of the Japanese people, may be an answer he gave himself. Even if he was not a direct victim of the 311 earthquake, Shinkai Makoto still felt the impermanence and trauma brought by the disaster in the community and on the news. After so many years, many victims are still unable to recover from the trauma caused by this disaster, and even many places are still undergoing post-disaster reconstruction. Just like the bell bud in the story, it seems to be forgotten, but in fact it is just hiding the wound deep inside.
Although in the movie, we follow the protagonist through Miyazaki where the Obino Earthquake (1968) occurred, Aichi in the Geiyo Earthquake (2001), Kobe in the Great Hanshin Earthquake (1995), Tokyo in the Great Kanto Earthquake (1923), and Miyagi in the Great East Japan Earthquake (2011). However, Shinkai Makoto did not deliberately use sensational techniques to depict the fear and pain caused by these earthquakes, but instead showed the people in these places continuing to live seriously after regaining hope.
Although the theme of earthquakes is the theme, the earthquake warning in the movie also brings a strong sense of tension. But the main axis of the story is not the horror of natural disasters, but how people face and get out of pain after encountering these impermanences. That's why, at the end of Suzuya's journey, she must return to the beginning of everything and start a conversation with herself. And this plot is exactly what the core of this whole movie wants to express, trying to tell those who are still trapped in the shadow of disaster that the world is still full of beauty.
Touching lines
"Sincerely fearful and call for the sun not to see God, the god of the ancestors' birth, the mountains and rivers that have been received for a long time, sincerely fearful, only to return to Yuer!"
Although the theme of this work is the 311 Great East Japan Earthquake, Makoto Shinkai once said that his inspiration came from the new crown pneumonia, seeing many places lose popularity, such a lonely picture, making ruins an important image in this work. Before the door master locks the back door, he must first feel in his mind the sound of the ruins, the noisy daily life of those people, and chant the mantra of thanking the land before the back door can be sealed.
This sealing process shows the relationship between man and the land. On the land borrowed from the gods, people compose stories one after another, go through countless clutches, and in the end, due to the changes of times or the ruthlessness of nature, it is left in ruins. The process of closing the back door is both a seal and a gratitude to the land. Even if we have suffered disasters, we still do not complain about the heavens and do not blame others, and face the land that gave birth to us with a sincere attitude.
In this story that explores people's post-disaster trauma, there is a positive spirit of not forgetting gratitude due to loss.
"I'm going." "You're back."
"I'm going." An ordinary morning greeting, but it was the most common echo of Suzuya and Kusata in every ruin. Before the catastrophe that claimed many lives, this word that appeared at the entrance of every family was also the last word of care that many people and loved ones did. Therefore, such a simple sentence becomes more and more heavy in the movie as the plot progresses.
"You're back." Therefore, this simple welcome has become a greeting that many victims who have lost relatives and friends can no longer say. At the end of the movie, Suzuya says this to Kusata, who returned from a trip, perhaps also symbolizing the last goodbye to his mother who died in the disaster and his self who was affected by the disaster!
"You will also like people in the future, and you will meet many people who like you very much. Although you may feel dark now, morning will always come."
Many survivors of natural disasters often find it difficult to stop thinking about the question: "Why is it me who survived?" Lingya may also become less concerned about his own safety and have a strong tendency to self-sacrifice. In addition to showing amazing action when facing the danger of closing the door, he also once said that "life and death are only fate." "I have to sacrifice myself in exchange for Kusanagi." Such pessimistic words.
However, after hearing Kusata's dream and her desire not to die, she suddenly realized that life is not just luck, even if you lose your loved one in a disaster, there are still many opportunities to love and be loved in the future. It may seem dark now, but the darkness will pass and morning will come again. As a result, the will to survive is aroused and the power to encourage oneself and others to continue living.
It's not a bell bud journey about love
In the original case of Makoto Shinkai, the protagonists of the Suzuya journey should be two girls, our handsome Kusanagi with flowing hair and tear moles, should be a handsome and capable big sister in the original case. But in the subsequent trailer and official version, Kusanagi has become a handsome and considerate big brother. Perhaps considering the relationship between the audience, it is obvious that the story mixed with a little love component will be more in line with the public's imagination of Xinhai Makoto and attract more audiences.
Perhaps because of such an evolution, the love line of this work is not excellent, and it even gives people a bit of a hard feeling. Most of the audience's feelings are that there is not much spark between Suzuya and Kusanagi, and even the time and process of getting along are not enough to cultivate the emotion of being willing to live and die. This is indeed where this film will make people compare the drama in the process of watching the movie, but as mentioned earlier, the focus of this work is not love, but psychological repair after the disaster, so you may wish to ignore the love scene and focus on the psychological changes of the bell bud, perhaps it will have more resonance with this movie.
Another character that everyone is easy to hate is probably the troublesome cat minister. Although it seems to be the culprit of everything, it is also a distressing character. According to the novel, in another disaster a hundred years ago, an orphan volunteered to become a key stone to help suppress earthworms in the everlasting world, which was the predecessor of the minister.
Become a stone that does not eat, drink or move, and suppress calamities in cold and darkness for a hundred years, even if you are already a god, it is a lonely and difficult challenge! That's why Suzuya accidentally released it and asked it, "Would you like to be your own cat?" After that, it will be so determined to become the child of the bell bud.
Stunning soundtrack and graphics
Watching movies in the cinema is still an experience that is hard to replace. For example, "Avatar: The Way of Water" and "Babylon" introduced before show the sound and light stimulation that cannot be replaced by devices in the home. And this "Journey to the Bell Buds" is also a movie that can truly reflect the charm in the cinema.
Known as each screenshot can become a desktop cloth for the computer, Makoto Shinkai's movies often have magnificent and beautiful pictures. Many of the places Suzuya's trip to are actually references to actual attractions in Japan, such as abandoned amusement parks and level crossings with the beginning of the movie, and may also become the theme of a new wave of holy land tours.
And the theme song this time also invited RADWIMPS, who has collaborated with Chengge many times, and the theme song sung by Shiming, with its ethereal and healing voice, also prompted many audience tears in the theater. Unlike in "Your Name" and "Weather Child", the theme song often has a noisy problem, and some clips are said to be more like a large music video. In "Journey to the Bell Buds", the soundtrack often brings out the mood just right, combines with the plot and picture, and becomes a highlight that moves the audience.
Overall, in addition to the moving story, the scenes of the whole movie are both real and dreamy, with well-designed music, giving people a rich sound and light experience, is a work that is highly recommended to watch in the cinema, especially the better the specifications and quality of the cinema, the more you can feel the charm of this movie.
Makoto Shinkai's masterpiece
Following "The Hidden Girl", after 21 years, Japanese animated films have once again been shortlisted for the Berlin Film Festival, and Makoto Shinkai's "Suzuya Journey" has not only sold well in China, but also won many praises and affirmations internationally. Three consecutive films achieved a box office of more than 10 billion yen, which also established his status as a master in the Japanese animation film industry.
And this movie, also known as Shinkai Makoto's masterpiece, in addition to retaining the original advantages of Shinkai Makoto on the basis of the previous films, the narrative structure and soundtrack collocation are also more appropriate. At the same time, the difference in themes is also the reason why this film has more universal value. Unlike the fateful love emphasized in "Your Name" or the regretful love that appears in "Five Centimeters Per Second", the theme of "Journey to Lingya" focuses on psychological reconstruction after disasters and explores the relationship between people and land, with a broader spirit of humane care.
Although some people say that the move brought to him by this movie is not as deep as that of "Your Name" back then, there are also enthusiastic fans who have brushed this movie four times and five times, expressing their love and emotion for "Journey to the Bell Bud". After all, whether you like a work or not, there is still some subjective component, especially Makoto Shinkai's films, and they are particularly good at resonating with the audience's own specific experience, so whether there are radio waves will affect their feelings of watching movies.
But in any case, purely artistic and therapeutic, "Journey to the Bell Bud" is worth our hearts and minds in the cinema. Among them, the care for the aftermath of the disaster can have a lot of resonance with the Taiwanese people who have also experienced several earthquakes.
Tribute to Master Miyazaki
In addition to the male protagonist Kusanagi looks a lot like Hall in "Hall's Moving Castle", there are also many elements and scenes in the movie that pay tribute to the works of Master Miyazaki ~ If you like Japanese animation, don't miss this legendary master's fantasy masterpiece~