Weathering With You - Review

Rating: 5 out of 5

MAKOTO Shinkai has been dubbed "the new Miyazaki" because of the way he combines breathtaking animation with heartfelt, intelligent storytelling. He shot to prominence with the beautiful Your Name and followed that up with the stunning Weathering With You.

Set in a hyper-real Tokyo that is experiencing its wettest season on record, the story follows 16-year-old runaway Hodaka and his relationship with a mysterious 'sun girl', who has the power to stop the rain and bring sunshine into people's lives.

The 'sun girl' in question is a fellow teen named Hina, who first encounters Hodaka as he is seeking refuge from the rain in the fast-food restaurant in which she works. Taking pity on him, she offers Hodaka a free burger... an act of kindness that leaves an indelible impression.

Days later, Hodaka subsequently rescues Hina from a different kind of job and the two begin a life together, living in an apartment with Hina's younger brother, and starting their own business, which utilises Hina's skills as a 'sun girl'. By offering a prayer, Hina can stop the rain over a set environment and offer happiness... bringing certainty to the uncertain and making people's weddings, days out, sports days or flea markets.

But while Hina displays mythological qualities that soon make her skills highly sought after, her powers come at a cost. And both Hina and Hodaka are soon forced to make some difficult choices, while realising their deepening feelings for each other.

Shinkai's movie is as mystical as it is spiritual at times... as well as oddly prescient. For, just as he did with Your Name, Shinkai frames his story around impending environmental catastrophe. The nods to the changing weather, while couched in mythological terms (and perhaps not as direct a commentary on real world concerns as I took), certainly feel timely and lend the film a reach that extends beyond the fantastical and into the real.

Japan's plight, with worsening rainfall, feels ominous. Yet it's beautifully captured by Shinkai's stunning use of animation, with saturated cityscapes forming a striking backdrop to the central romance at play.

Yet when Hina brings the sunshine and rainbows, the film feels every bit as soul nourishing and hopeful as the events in the story itself, which makes the sacrifices and losses that follow all the more emotional.

Like both Studio Ghibli and Pixar, Shinkai doesn't shy away from darker emotions, enabling his film to play to a wide audience. It's magical for kids, yet beguiling for adults too. Its themes of impossible love, of loneliness in a big city, of class and difference, resonate strongly.

And it ensures that Weathering With You transcends any particular genre, offering the type of film that is as thought-provoking on one level, as it is dazzling and inspirational on another.

Certificate: 12A

Running time: 1hr 54mins