5 Centimeters Per Second (2007)

5 Centimeters Per Second (2007)

starring Kenji Mizuhashi, Yoshimi Kondou, Satomi Hanamura

written and directed by Makoto Shinkai

62 minutes

This movie consists of three stories. The first is about Takaki (Kenji Mizuhashi) and Akari (Yoshimi Kondou). They met when they were in 4th grade. They bonded to the point that others teased them about being married. Her family moves away but they stay in touch through letters. Takaki decides to visit Akari after he learns that his family is going to be moving very far away.

Takaki takes the train to see Akari one day in March. It snows. The train gets delayed but he eventually gets their, hours late. She is waiting for him. They share some food, go for a walk, kiss under a tree, and then spend the rest of the night huddled up together. He goes back home the next day.

The second story is about Takaki and Kanae (Satomi Hanamura), a classmate from high school. She has a thing for him which he doesn't seem to reciprocate. He often seems to be lost in his thoughts. She wants to tell him but she can't seem to get the words out. She settles for hanging out with him but doesn't give up on trying to get closer to him until just before he leaves to go to university in Tokyo.

The third story is about Takaki who is grown up now. He still thinks about Akari. He wonders about what might have been.

Thoughts

I didn't realize going in that this was a collection of three stories. That only became apparent to me as I watched it and it transitioned from the first story to the second one. Even then I was expecting Akari to be in the second story. Her presence was felt in that story but but not in the way that she was part of the first one. The third story was maybe half the length of the other two stories.

I think that there might be dubbed version of this movie but I watched the subtitled version, as I always do with foreign language films.

This is a very quiet movie. It is also a very poetic film. It is about feeling and emotion but the deepest emotions are the ones that characters don't share with others. Its kind of sad and lonely in that way. 

I appreciate this movie but I'm not sure it leaves me feeling satisfied. It is about nostalgia, and I can appreciate that but I don't have the sort of experiences in my past that Takaki had.