Review by Zach Dennis and Jessica Carr
Zach: I’m relatively new to the work of Makoto Shinkai, as I caught up with most of his films prior to the festival, but am aware of the box office power that his latest, Your Name, had in North American and overseas. This one feels somewhat along the same lines: a runaway boy finds himself trying to survive in Tokyo and strikes up a friendship with a girl who he discovers has the abilities to control the weather. We can dig into the weather aspect later – because I think that was our largest takeaway – but I enjoyed the film outside of its ending. It seems very typical Shinkai fare and the three kids at the center are charming and fun to watch explore this ability that the girl has.
Did you like it, Jessica? And how does it stack up against his others in your eyes?
Jessica: While I agree that this film is very fun and the characters are charming, Your Name is a much, much better film. The female character in Your Name has more of a fleshed-out personality, for one thing. I think most of that is due to the fact that the male and female characters switch bodies, so we get a glimpse into not only both of their lives but also what it would be like for the male lead to live as a female and vice versa. There’s a lot of really good gender stuff in Your Name and we lose ALL of that sensibility and nuance in Weathering With You.
Instead, we are plunged into the brain of a teenage boy who is willing to do whatever so he can have a girlfriend...and that's just not very interesting to me. The problem here is that perhaps Shinkai didn't want to completely make an allegorical film about climate change, but there really is no way this movie isn't read that way. So instead of committing to that completely, he just confuses all of us with his ending. Without giving spoilers, Zach how did you feel about the ending of Weathering With You?
Zach: Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…
I agree with you that I’m not entirely sure of the point Shinkai was trying to make with this ending. From his past work, it seems like he wanted to lean into the power of choosing love over the everyday struggles of life, but to link that with the effects of climate change seems incredibly ill-advised and in bad taste.
Whereas his other films seem to take into account not only the love story, but also the greater good of those around them (especially with Your Name), I don’t know why this one decided to cast all other aspects to the wayside. He also seems to hint multiple times throughout the story that these climate effects are a natural cycle in the world, and not the direct result of the past century, which almost made me fall out of my chair.
It’s really unfortunate, because I think the central tale of the boy and girl being outcasts in Tokyo is great on its own, and I don’t know why he decided to take it in the direction he did. And we didn’t even mention the entire subplot related to a handgun…
Jessica: Yeah….I felt like that was completely unnecessary. Shinkai really needed a female writing partner on this one. Someone to consult and say, ''Hey, maybe you shouldn't put that in there." These movies take so long to make, so it's just frustrating when they have several problems that stop them from being great. I feel like when this hits theaters in America, I will still join my friends in watching it. At the very least, it's gorgeous to look at even if the ending may have everyone throwing up their hands in dismay.