The story is once again about a man on a mission to find some lady in the sky that his mom used to talk about, and he finds a strange girl in a seaside town and decides to stick around for a while.
*SPOILER WARNING*
I felt as though Misuzu's death was very moving, and showing her physical decline was very difficult to watch, as was Haruko's mourning for her daughter. The scene between Misuzu and Yukito at the shrine during a fireworks festival was particular moving, seeing Misuzu barely able to stand and witnessing a passionate kiss between the two of them.
*SPOILER OVER*
I'll be honest though, I don't remember the exact details of this movie because I watched it about three years ago. However, I definitely remember how I felt while watching it, and what it does great is write a very bleak story that just makes you feel shitty. There really was no good way out for anyone in this story, except maybe for Haruko, but even she has to deal with an enormous amount of suffering by the time the movie is over. The movie definitely has a lot of things one could interpret from it, such as the importance of having the strength to move on after tragedy as can be seen in Haruko's character, but I suspect many different meanings could be pulled from this title than just that one. It tells the viewer very little, but instead opts to show you what the characters are experiencing, and in so doing leaves it up to the viewer to decide what the message is supposed to be. I really like this format, and seeing what different people took away from this tragic tale is always interesting to see.
The art and sound are very well done for being several years old, and I attribute this fully to the enormous pockets of Kyoto Animation, since their animation has basically always been top notch. The character designs are Key classics, with pretty looking characters whose eyes are probably too big to be taken seriously by most, but are easy to get used to if you just go with the flow. The music is appropriately wistful and sometimes downright depressing, but oftentimes there simply is no music, and I felt that added to the more dramatic scenes. The impact of having to accept the tragedy before your eyes without any sort of music in the background forces you to focus on what's going on in front of you, and it makes it feel strangely real at times. Sometimes there is nothing but grief, and I think the movie definitely has moments where it smacks you in the face with just some cold, hard sadness.
I don't think everyone will enjoy this movie, since it certainly is not fast-paced, nor is there much that actually happens in it. However, for someone who wants to just sit down and sink into a hope-filled story that slowly just breaks apart into heartrending tragedy, I highly recommend Air, the movie edition.
