The Place Promised in Our Early Days - Suite101.com
- Suite101.com
- Holly Ellingwood
- 08/08/05
- click here
"A movie that touches the soul of the viewer..."
"... this is the very best of anime."
?Just like people, the universe also dreams.?
The Place Promised in Our Early Days is a feature length movie from ADV done by none other than Makoto Shinkai. He was the genius who made, completely on his own, the amazing award wining short anime film Voices of a Distant Star. Now he brings us this moving science fiction drama about two best friends and the promise they make to a girl whom they both care dearly for. Known in Japan as Beyond the Clouds, The Place Promised, this movie is set in a Japan with an alternate history, divided into North and South, and tensions run high. A long white tower stands in the middle, and two boys, Takuya and Hiroki, both dream of flying there someday. A promise they share with Sayuri, a girl they both care for. But time passes, tensions mount between warring factions and separation occurs, betrayal looms. Hiroki wonders if he can keep his promise to Sayuri, a promise that if kept, could well mean the destruction of not only the world, but the universe itself.
Makoto Shinkai proves again that he has a deft touch at showing us on a very personal level the soul of a story. Poetic, filled with heartbreaking beauty, the story moves like a dream, one I was loathe to wake from. Heartrending and filled with wonder all at once, he shows us the best and worst of what can lie within us, yet always hopeful that at the core is something pure and ineffable. A movie that touches the soul of the viewer, revealing the effects of war, the separation of friendship and facing love and loss, this is the very best of anime. Do not miss this movie.
This is the first time I have ever given a full 10 out of 10 kendo rating to an anime. This movie deserves it and more.
Posted on Monday, August 08, 2005 (Archive on Thursday, September 08, 2005)