Film // 5 Centimeters Per Second

Directed by   Makoto Shinkai

Running time 63 minutes

5 Centimeters Per Second is the 2007 film directed by Makoto Shinkai. Before I mentioned the plot and premise of the film, I want to mention that '5 Centimeters Per Second' along with other of Makoto Shinkai's works are some of the most visually compelling animated feature I have ever seen, with immense amounts of detail and effort paid to creating atmosphere, scale and environments.

The story starts in the early 90's and ends in modern day. It follows the story of a boy called 'Takaki Tono'. The first act of the film takes place in an era when mobile phones are uncommon in society and the use of email has not yet reached the general population. This story is one of

 

a friendship and the developments and realities of relationships as you progress through life, at least that is my interpretation of it. The first act shows the meeting of two people, Takaki, and a girl called Akari Shinohara when she transfers to his elementary school. The two people grow close because of their mutual interests such as wanting to stay inside during breaks in school due to allergies. Upon graduation, Akari moves away due to her parents jobs and the two have to write each other due to the distance, growing apart. Takaki goes to visit Akari after receiving the knowledge that he too is moving and soon they will be too far apart to visit. He prepares a letter declaring his love for her but loses it on the journey. After the two are reunited, they share a kiss and Takaki realises that once he leaves, they will never see each other again. He leaves the next morning and the two promise to continue to write to one another.

In a sense, this kind of style where, characters stories are followed throughout the film before they encounter problems and we feel an emotional connection to them because of rigorously they have been developed in front of us is similar to that of Ghibli and the work of Hayao Miyazaki. In the same sense that these kind of stories are not fantasy, they're very real and occur on a daily basis, it feels like you're getting insight into every day peoples lives, and sometimes they are the best stories.

Something about this film in particular is that the transition of shots and overall editing of the film in places is perfectly crafted to the pace of the film. Whether is be a sequence of close up shots

covering minor details and emphasising them, or huge wide angle landscape shots,depicting the characters and the setting with a vast and epic scale. The film is constantly interchanging between different angles, each chosen to fit each scene and scenario. The lighting used in the film, makes you feel like it's always sunset or sunrise and kind of sends you into a feeling of relaxation and calmness, this leaves you watching and taking in every aspect of the film. The colours used in some of the scenes on the sky and the
trees and environments as a whole

are unconventional but work really well to give the illusion of evening and morning, pink and purple often coat the sky, and the same for the trees as if they are reflecting the evening sun. When characters are inside, often the curtain or blinds are closed or semi-closed leaving the room dimly lit and casting large shadows, the use of lighting and colour as a whole makes the story and onscreen animation feel very dramatic and epic at the same time.

Makoto Shinka did an outstanding job with this film, combining a story of solitude and hope with the perfect combination of artwork and colour palette. The characters are likable and as the audience you feel emotionally attached to them from the start. Finally, the broad range of camera angles and positioning of the camera makes you feel involved in the story but simultaneously adds an aspect of excitement and action in a film with a slow pace.