Let me tell you it did not disappoint.
The story was something I had not encountered (not being familiar with Shinkai). It is separated into three parts. You are given the story first by the our main male character, Takaki. He is in love with his friend Akari. Circumstances occur and they are forced to part. The second is when Takaki is in his senior year and it is presented by Kanae who is in love with Takaki. The third part occurs in 2008. All characters have gone their separate ways and are in different stages of life. The story, without giving to much away, is very beautiful and very tragic. It's blindingly realistic and I was so upset by how much I realized that this happens everyday. The theme of it, which is the title 5 Centimeters Per Second (the rate at which cherry blossom petals fall) is a representation of how human life continues at a painfully slow pace and how we often drift apart. Shinkai's film is heart-rendering-ly realistic, displaying the trials of time, love, space and people in such a manner I believed he was a god (briefly).
The art was breathtaking. I often found myself pausing the movie or rewinding back to previous scenes just to fully take in the monumental art and effects the movie had. It was beautiful and made the movie epic for me. The colors were so bright and delicious I was coming up for air more times than I can count.
The sound was simple and yet profound. The song "One more time, one more chance" captures the entirety of the movie. It was haunting and made me want to cry at the amount of life it captured. The movie had the proper music when needed and had none when the story was enough in itself.
The characters were the truest part of the movie. Takaki, Kanae, and Akari even are shown as they truly would have been in real life. There are people who move on and people who don't. It showed wonderful development (or none, depending on who) of the characters and I often found myself tearing up for someone.
I enjoyed this movie to the fullest. But it also breaks my heart. This movie evoked so many emotions in me I thought my heart would burst and any film that can do that is worthy of any award. It also proves that everyone should take the time to enjoy it.
I loved the end and hated it at the same time. Because the more I think on it, the more truthful it speaks to me.
