5 Centimeters Per Second

Stringing together stories about people’s struggle to overcome time and circumstance, this beautiful work inched closer to my heart with each passing moment.

While the subject of withered relationships is quite universal, we all still forget how easily memories and feelings become lost through time.  Pushing viewers to face this steady force permeating our lives, Makoto Shinkai creates a sober portrait of loss in real life.  The bittersweet conclusion reminds us of the realities of life lacking in the dramas we typically see on the screen.

Never forcing viewers onto a revelation, the story allowed me to pull up close to the situations it portrayed. Because it is easy to identify with the characters and their struggles, the story conveys the theme with powerful clarity.  The familiar scenes depicting moments of anxiety, hesitation, and desperation reveals the intense feelings we associate with these situations, driving home the significance of the theme of gradual separation.

Simple, subtle, yet effective, 5 Centimeters Per Second is one of the best films I’ve seen in a while.

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