Forum - View topicThoughts about 5 cm per second [spoilerish]
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Ardlien
 Posts: 59 |
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I'm struggling to write this without sounding overly pretentious, and also to protect any unwary readers who have not seen the film, but I have to ask, what is this film?
There is a love story here, and a coming of age, and the theme of distance, but for me these do not aptly define the film. Hesitantly I categorise 5 cm per second as spoiler[a tragedy] but even then I find it hard to compare it to the classic examples. I believe the trouble lies with the flow of the story. In, for example, Grave of The Fireflies the story's conclusion is known from the beginning. This limits the audience's reactions to the inevitable ups and downs of plot somewhat. While it may not be strictly conscious, I think there was an air of skepticism even in the rare moments of joy (in Grave of The Fireflies). spoiler[As they are watching the fireflies in their shelter, the title sort of limits how optimistic you can be, and this amplifies the disappointment when they wake to find the fireflies dead] By contrast the suspense in 5 cm per second comes from the complete ignorance of the audience. spoiler[I found myself expecting the train ride to end with nobody to meet Takaki, but on the other hand expecting Sumita to succeed in her pursuit of Takaki] This helps keep mystery alive certainly but it also makes the ending a hard one, for me at least, to assess. spoiler[I have only seen the film once, so my understanding may not be perfect, but it seems that the conclusion puts Akari moving on, while Takaki remains lonely, hoping for an unlikely meeting.] The emotional effect of the conclusion is relatively simple, but simplicity of the story brought me instead of accepting the emotion to questioning the artistic value of the story. spoiler[Was there a plot? I asked, since it seemed only to relate the separation of this pair. Was it magnificent? I asked, since it seemed to know exactly what I was expecting (a reunion of some kind) and calmly took it away.] And here is where I run into trouble, given the quality of the animation, dialogue, narration, pacing etc. Did these ambiguities stop me from enjoying the film? spoiler[Did the story flirt too much with minimalism and lose an intended tragic impact? Or is Shinkai simply showing me a melancholy life?] |
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joshuafer
 Posts: 262 |
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Personally, I felt rather bummed after watching it too. I agree, it seemed Takaki spoiler[ was living a pretty crappy life at the end. ] Someone had said in an earlier post that both spoiler[ were engaged at the end of the film, but I did not get that feeling at all with takaki. I felt he was living a crappy existence, with nobody to love him, while akari was engaged.] I know critics rave about it, but it was not really the kind of anime I like. I also do not know why they call Shinkai the next Miyazaki on the back of the DVD, it seems like a rather foolish thing to say, in my opinion Miyazaki's films are a lot more magical, filled with wonder, and heart warming. I had my father ( who is in his mid 50's ) watch Howls Moving Castle ( go DVR power ) and he enjoyed it. I also found it odd that they wrote each other letters the entire time, in the first story, then ? They just stopped communicating ? Well, like I said, it was not really my type of movie. I am sure some people liked it, just not me.
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Nomigid
Posts: 49 |
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This is one of those films where you hope for the best, but have your hopes crushed, in the end.
That said, it is a great film,I rated it a masterpiece,but it still is just so sad! |
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ShadowTrader
 Posts: 231 Location: NJ |
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I interpreted it in a different way. I think the whole point of the film was to show how fast life moves, and not to let it go by without making good memories. In the end I was sentimental not because of the characters' situation, but because it made me reflect on my own life and see the opportunities missed and the roads not taken.
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oldyoshi
Posts: 6 |
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I thought the movie was about speed, and the speed in which all the events were taking place, not just the speed of flower blossoms falling onto the ground (5 cm per second), but also the speed of the relationships that were forming and how events affect them. I think the director said something like that in the extras anyway.
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Keonyn
 Subscriber Posts: 5567 Location: Coon Rapids, MN |
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It is beautiful to be sure, but ultimately I still prefer Place Promised in Our Early Days over 5 Centimeters Per Second. Place promised seemed to have more of a story going for it and at least spoiler[provided a sense of hope, even if the ending was still ambiguous]. Artistically the film is still amazing, but it was a tad predictable. For all his talent, it seems Shinkai is stuck on one particular story style and I really hope he eventually finds a bit more creativity in that regard.
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Steve Berry
Posts: 522 Location: San Francisco Bay Area, CA |
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I've been wanting to rewatch this film for some time-- for me, its the last "great" thing I've watched since last fall. I was also in an utter funk after finishing the film-- for days. I'm sure almost everyone has their own experiences that somehow relate to this film.... I know I sure did. The odd part is that for me, it was not I relationship that I really wish had continued, as I'm happily married to someone else now for 8 years-- and yet, that sense of nostalgia and close ties that slowly grow apart hit me like a ton of bricks just the same. This is really at the heart of the piece for me, and why it works so well. People might complain about the lack of a plot, etc etc., but the truth is that if it moves you, then its successful.
Of all Shinkai's works, this one is my favorite. All the oddities of plot and setting (i.e. mecha, rebels, alternative histories, etc) that seemed the weakest parts of the other stories, that seemed there just to get you to that point where you could feel something emotional or experience a beautiful scene, ...those things are stripped away-- instead, in a minimalist way, only the things that he does best are represented.... namely, mood, lighting, and the small intimate details of character interaction. Is this an emotional retread of the other stories? Yes. But refined to a point where I felt like he finally really had a masterful handle on what he was trying to get at. Do I hope he might explore other emotions now? Sure, as I don't see how much farther he can go with this than 5 cm, as it seems one of the all time quintessential anime pieces on nostalgia and longing, and in that respect really transcends the genre. Also, as for the minimalism of plot, and placing a value judgment on that fact- this simply felt very Japanese to me, for better or worse. It really follows all the conventions of a great deal of Japanese literature and poetry. Remove all that's extraneous. Focus on the passing details. Show the transient emotions and situations that you can't hold on to, but that are very real and meaningful anyways. This is the sort of stuff that, aesthetically, defines haiku, Basho, Tanizaki, Kawabata, Mishima, etc. In that sense, his total disregard for plot is right in line with an entire cultural history of expression. Even thinking of anime, the truth is that 5 cm is really not, aesthetically, that much different from a host of Ghibli works-- particularly those of Takahata. Miyazaki is really sort of an anomaly, in terms of how plot oriented some of his works are-- I think that's part of why he's so attractive to western audiences (which is funny to say, since even his work "rambles" by western concepts of plot). Finally, as for the ending being so depressing-- I've read a lot of posts about it, and what's made me want to see it again is the interpretation that they've suggested-- that the 3rd short is really about Takaki coming out of that delusion/ illusion he's been living in; that, yes, he's been unhappy, thinking he could have done something different, etc, but that when that train passes and spoiler[she's not there, whether she just kept walking, or whether she never really was there], that he has a gentle sort of smile at that moment-- that's he's caught himself living in the past, and is starting to move on. I don't know if I really think that interpretation is true or not, but I'm willing to watch it all again to see. |
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Nomigid
Posts: 49 |
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I think Steve Berry hit the nail on the head, with his interpretation of the ending of 5 cm per second!
The ending is both sad( the ending of a dream), and hopeful( the restarting of a life(future)). |
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