Weathering with You

 3/4

Starring (voices): Brandon Engman, Ashley Boettcher, Lee Pace, Alison Brie, Riz Ahmed

Rated PG-13 for Suggestive Material, Some Violence and Language

"Weathering with You" ultimately works because it takes its subject matter and its characters seriously.  It expects that the audience will accept that a girl can change the weather by praying.  If you're willing to accept that, the film is a success.

Hodaka (Engman) has run away from home.  He has gone to Tokyo, which is experiencing strange weather phenomena.  It is always raining, or about to rain, and there are puddles of water that float in the sky only to drench unlucky pedestrians passing under them.  At first, it is slow going and without a place to stay and no legal way to obtain a job, Hodaka is resigned to sleeping in the streets.  Salvation comes when he reunites with Keisuke Suga (Pace), a carefree layabout he met on the ferry, offers him a job at his bizarre underground magazine, and Hina (Boettcher), a pretty girl who offers him food.  Hodaka discovers that Hina has the ability to bring out the sunshine at will (for a limited time).  As they seek to capitalize on her mysterious ability, they fall in love.  But a special gift like this has a price.

Full confession: I've seen this movie twice (I missed the first few minutes when I saw it in theaters before Covid-19 hit, which is why I didn't review it then).  It was better the first time.  It's a nicely underplayed romantic fantasy melodrama that's a cross between Dickens and Nicholas Sparks.  It sounds like a bizarre mix, and it is, but it works.  The characters are appealing, the story is engaging, and the animation is flat out gorgeous.

The voice acting is solid.  The advertisements show that future stars Lee Pace, Alison Brie and Riz Ahmed are in the cast, and they are, but their roles are strictly supporting.  They do solid jobs, which in this case is to not call attention to themselves.  The meaty roles go to Brandon Engman and Ashley Boettcher, who play the leads.  Of the two, Boettcher is more successful.  She captures a certain whimsical innocence that's endearing.  Brandon Engman is good, but his range is stretched too far in the emotional scenes.

I love animation in general, and my admiration for anime grows with every new film I see (and this is coming from a guy who used to hate it with a fiery passion).  As enjoyable as the Disney classics are, they limit the art form to movies for kids and singing animals.  But animation has ability to generate emotions and tell complex stories in ways live action just can't do.  Can you imagine "Grave of the Fireflies" being told in live action (actually it was made into two live action films, but the fact that they're relegated to trivia proves my point)?  Would "A Silent Voice" be as devastating to watch?  "Weathering with You" isn't in the same league as those films, and doesn't aspire to be, but it has a certain elegance that only animation can bring it.

The film was directed by Makoto Shinkai, whose previous film was "Your Name."  I wasn't as big of a fan of that film as others (it currently sits at #74 on iMDb's Top 250 and the only Japanese film that outgrossed it was "Spirited Away").  In that film I felt that Shinkai was too ambitious in telling a story that exceeded his grasp.  Here, he's more focused, and as a result, it's a more fulfilling experience.  One thing that cannot be denied is that it looks incredible.  It's filled with bright colors and strange sights.  There is a scene where his "camera" travels the cityscape during a fireworks show that's guaranteed to leave anyone speechless.  If there's any evidence that animation can do things that live action can't, it's that sequence.

"Weathering with You" is a good film, but not a great one.  The story gets distracted on occasion and has a tendency to get sappy.  It also feels a little aloof; it's more of an intellectual experience than an emotional one.  But it is entertaining to watch, so it gets a recommendation from me.