Amateur Recommendation Hour: 5 Centimeters Per Second

Today’s recommendation is one of my favorite films of all time. It does so much more with its short run time (65 minutes) than a lot of films do with a more standard length. I believe this to be Makoto Shinkai’s best film. He continues to amaze me with how effective he is at utilizing time in his film, no matter how little or long the run time is, or how minimalist or maximalist the idea may be. From simple relationships between two modest, average people within the constraints of the real world to time-bending reality twisting connections of different times and different people his ability to create believable people within the most beautifully realized worlds, be it of our own or fantastical, is remarkable.

Animated by the incredible team over at Shinkai’s studio, the Chiyoda Tokyo-based Comix Wave, 5 Centimeters Per Second has a fairly simple premise. The film consists of three segments: "Cherry Blossom", "Cosmonaut", and "5 Centimeters per Second", each following a period in Takaki Tono's life and his relationships with the people around him across different years of his and their respective lives. 

It is remarkably effective in conveying its themes and messages. Paced to near perfection, a beautifully gentle yet emotionally impactful piano score by Tenmon, excellent shot framing, and the visuals (OH THE VISUALS…). As only Makoto Shinkai and his team could, it makes me wish our real world was this gorgeous to behold. It's particularly impressive considering the fact that this film came out in 2007. Not that stunningly high quality visuals were impossible for the time but given that the budget was not especially high and it wasn't a particularly large team, the results are nothing short of spectacular.

As is often the case, Shinkai and his team recreated real world architecture and interiors from various places in Japan. Such as the waiting room in Iwafune Station, the high school, and the space station in Tanegashima. And in typical Comix Wave fashion, the real world adjacent will always pale in comparison to the sheen, the glistening splendor through which they have been portrayed. His ability to make the relatively flat, flamboyant, and florescent. It is Makoto Shinkai and Comix Wave that truly made me appreciate the work that goes into sculpting a location, be it real world recreation or original, as well as the visual satisfaction that comes from the medium of animation. The potential is just far greater than what we can achieve with our real world. Superficially, stylistically, and thematically.

The aforementioned score is equal parts heart-wrenching and weary. Conveying the gravity of the young lives and the emotional palpitations through which they endeavor. Of all of Tenmon’s work on Makoto Shinkai’s films, this may be his very best score. Equally minimal in thematic harmony with the scope, tone, and style with the film, the complexity and gravity through which the ballads are belted out feel so specific to this film to the point that if put over a mutually intelligible film it would be noticeably conformational. 

Beneath its glistening surface are some meaningful and valuable themes expressed in a very well-realized manner. The characters act in such believable ways such as composing long texts they never intend to send, crying themselves to sleep, or expressing nervousness at overcoming personal challenges, if they weren't animated I'd be convinced they're walking the streets out there somewhere. 

Takaki, a young boy with a transformative and unlikely experience in the formative and adolescent years of his life. Having to navigate the random and unexpected roadblocks, some cases literally, of life in a sprawling city. To teenagers, navigating around schedules, itineraries, and responsibilities to potentially achieve an intimate, personal, transformative and maybe even loving experience is a taste of what life ultimately becomes. But to such a vulnerable, inexperienced mind, the totality of which feels indescribably tall. Not just the most fulfilling as of yet, but to an impressionable mind, it means EVERYTHING. Long term implications and futures are something that is not even thought about at the very beginning of adolescence.

And our second main character, Kanae Sumida, further along in her adolescence, is able to see further and come to terms with an alternate future, not one of potential, but reality, no matter how harsh that reality is as it cuts it’s deepest and most relevant. Longing for someone, something that will never be. The acceptance that there truly are more journeys that await her. Maybe in this case, fortunate that she did not cling so strongly to an experience at her most impressionable state. And being forward thinking and emotionally intelligent enough to know that the pain of today will have nothing to do with the fulfillment of tomorrow.

My interpretation of this work has always been the importance of being able to embrace the pain of moving on for your own good and personal growth. Maybe it hurts in the moment and the immediate aftermath but being able to heal will contribute positively your life going forward from that point on. The experiences will always endure, even if the person or people from those valuable, developmental experiences do not stay in your lives for the long haul. Finding a healthy and personalized speed at which to live your life is more important than living your life at someone else's or that which society chooses for you. Instead of being swayed by the pressures of the “mandated” timeline for ones life. If we create our own path forward and how quickly that will go, it will feel natural, meaningful, and most importantly of all, personal.

As all of the very best artistic creations I’ve had the absolute privilege of experiencing have done, I feel a better, smarter person because of having seen this film. It is poignant, respectful, and mesmerizing all in equal measure while maintaining a gentle, relatively minimalistic approach in how it portrays its drama. When I can apply lessons learned through good art into my life and be better for it, the only better teacher is real world experience of which these transformative of artistic works often inspire me to seek.