When watching any series or film, the narrative is one of the elements which makes it a reason for a person to watch a film/series.
Take Makoto Shinkai for example. Everyone knows him - he has made films such as Your Name, Weathering with You, The Gardens of Words and more. He's known for his stunning visuals but this begs the question, is this a good case of visual over story?
Using Suzume as an example, I started to doubt whether Shinkai focused more on his visuals than his storyline. I gave the film a 2/10 - it could have been a one if the visuals or the music were not good. Let's dive into it.
Firstly, the story lacked a protagonist which the audience could get behind. Also, the characters put in there did not make any sense. Sure Suzume is the main character and lacks that background that don't know a lot about. She's just a 17-year-old girl and that's all I can think about. Her personality seems like a normal girl who goes to school and ponders upon something interesting. Take a favourite film of mine from Shinkai, The Garden of Words, the characters were simple and had an interesting background which made people understand more about the story and made people interested in the film - hence it's rated one of my favourite films of all time. This made it a reason for people to watch the film - they can support each character's journey.
Secondly, the storyline. Was there even a storyline? It feels too repetitive. There were moments when the door opened for no reason and there's not a reason why for it. Some scenes should have been only shown once or twice instead of repeating five or six times. The runtime was almost two hours long and it felt almost like a chore to watch. The story felt vague due to its character and some of its actions. Take Your Name for example. One of Shinkai's finest works. The storyline was simple, the characters in the film, Mitsuha and Takao managed to connect somehow and make a unique factor for
Thirdly, Shinkai is a well-known director around the world - there's no doubt about that. He's made many gems in the past, but ever since Your Name was released, his quality has gone down. Weathering with You, well, the visuals were nice, but do you see the pattern? His visuals are always a solid 10/10; however, he still lacks in the storytelling department. His last best film would probably be The Gardens of Words. What can I say? It's a 45-minute film, the storyline was simple, the characters were amazing and the visuals were solid as always. But when it came to Your Name, give him a big budget and a longer runtime, and he has more freedom to tell his story. Your Name for me is a good film, but some scenes were dragged on and I felt like if the romance was the main presence in the film, this film would rank higher on my list.
Finally, a film should have its unique point for people to watch it. Visuals sometimes do not have to look good and visually pleasing to watch. Take Akira for example, a film which was released in 1988 and it looked stunning ahead of its time (check out the 4k remastered version below). I personally would take a solid story over solid visuals. Visuals add to the replayability of the film, but at the end of the day, the story should be one of the things which should be nailed - well, that's what I think.
But what do you think, is a film worth watching if the visuals are there but the story is not there? Or is there another element of a film which is worth watching for? Let me know.
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