After being catapulted to international acclaim with animated features Your Name and Weathering With You, Japanese filmmaker Makoto Shinkai has scored another hit with Suzume.
The film, about a teenage girl who travels around Japan closing mysterious doors to prevent disasters, was the third-biggest title at Japan’s box office last year and is the first anime feature selected to play in Competition at the Berlinale since 2002, when Spirited Away won the Golden Bear (tied with Bloody Sunday). Crunchyroll has teamed with Sony Pictures and Wild Bunch International to distribute to audiences outside of Asia in April.
Ahead of the film’s international premiere, Shinkai spoke to Screen about the devastating earthquake and tsunami in 2011 that informed the story, why a three-legged chair became integral to the film and his thoughts on an upcoming live-action version of Your Name, produced by JJ Abrams.
What does it mean to you to have Suzume play in Competition?
I feel very humbled and honoured. It’s been 21 years since a Japanese animation has been part of the Competition. When I originally saw Spirited Away, it was a huge moment for me because I was just entering the beginning of my animation career. The idea that Japanese animation could reach that level of notoriety was very profound but I never thought I would be on that same stage.
What inspired this story?
I wanted to create an adventure where our protagonists are travelling throughout the Japanese islands and evoke a similar feeling to the constantly changing scenery of [Hayao] Miyazaki’s Laputa: Castle In The Sky. Thinking about where our characters would ultimately end up — after travelling through various ruins throughout Japan — it became obvious they would be headed to the major site of the Great East Japan Earthquake. Despite this film being a massive blockbuster spectacle, Suzume’s journey ultimately had to come face to face with that reality.
Where did you get the idea to make Suzume’s companion a three-legged chair that comes to life?
The theme of the film is quite heavy so I wanted a cute character that — even by simply walking — would bring a smile to the faces of the audience. It is inspired by a chair my father made for me when I was young but also Japanese folklore in which a tanuki raccoon gets fused with a [drinking] vessel. As to why it has three legs, I imagine that happened during the tsunami. It’s a metaphor for Suzume and her invisible mental scar.
The image of a dark worm emerging from these mysterious doors, before crashing down to cause disaster, is a powerful one. Was it challenging to realise that vision?
That was certainly something we found difficult to achieve. We ultimately invented a technique of simulating physics using 3D computer graphics before character animators went in and tweaked it to achieve what you see on screen. I didn’t want it to look and feel like a monster. It is more a force of nature, akin to water, smoke or lava, which rises and collapses — translating into an earthquake.
How do you feel about some international audiences not understanding what it means when a particular date, March 11, is revealed in the film?
Even among Japanese audiences, around one-third don’t fully understand the impact of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that followed because they are mostly in their early teens. I hope seeing Suzume’s reaction to the date will pique interest in certain moviegoers to look up why this is such a significant incident in the history of Japan. If that happens, the movie has fulfilled its purpose.
Looking ahead, what are your thoughts on taking Your Name from an animated feature to live-action?
I did not know it was going to be as tough as it has been to adapt an original anime into a live-action Hollywood production. But whenever it is complete, I look forward to experiencing it as a moviegoer and not as someone who is involved in the project.
Will it be another three years before we see your next film and are you working on the story?
It’s still a blank canvas at this moment. I’ll be travelling to the US among other countries to promote Suzume and I’m hoping there might be hints of other stories, narratives and themes that can be central to whatever my next film ultimately becomes.
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