Garden of Words, the latest animated feature from acclaimed director Makoto Shinkai, has been licensed by Sentai Filmworks for home market release in North America. This is a film Shinkai has described to be his “work of life, love and the spaces between” — something with themes you would mostly in the shomin-geki (films about commoners and working class), typically of those by Yasujiro Ozu (I Was Born, But…, Tokyo Story).
Sentai Filmworks describes the film as follows:
When Takao, a young high school student who dreams of becoming a shoe designer, decides to skip school one day in favor of sketching in a rainy garden, he has no idea how much his life will change when he encounters Yukino. Older, but perhaps not as much wiser, she seems adrift in the world. Despite the difference in their ages, they strike up an unusual relationship that unexpectedly continues and evolves, without planning, with random meetings that always occur in the same garden on each rainy day. But the rainy season is coming to a close, and there are so many things still left unsaid and undone between them. Will there be time left for Takao to put his feelings into actions and words? Between the raindrops, between the calms in the storm, what will blossom in THE GARDEN OF WORDS?
Makoto Shinkai continues his iconic style in delivering painterly animation that individually resembles illustrations in every frame. Immediately upon viewing this trailer, his use of bloom lighting to show the detail of sunlight, raindrops, and textures from wet surfaces and greenery offers an intense display of style — ecstatic truths of mundanity, tranquility, love, rage, isolation, and epiphany that are wholly reserved to the filmmaker.
Now, keep in mind that I am only making impressions based off the preview. But given Shinkai’s poetic use of visuals and philosophical musings in his stories, I may not be too far off.
You can watch the trailer below:
Garden of Words will have a theatrical release in Japan on May 31, and will be aired on select digital outlets with a DVD and Blu-ray release later this year, featuring both English dub and Japanese audio formats for your choosing.
