When I decided to see Your Name all I knew about it was that it had been popular in Japan and was getting great reviews. I obviously wasn't the only person to know this because that initial screening sold out before I got my ticket. In the few days between that screening and the one I eventually made, I coincidently happened to find out that it was a body swap film. I'm glad I knew this going in because the start of the film is really messy and I think had I not known vaguely what the film was about it would have been really frustrating. I think it's deliberately confusing but it feels like it could've been handled much better. I do think it will work much better on subsequent viewings when you're not constantly playing catch up.
Fortunately things quickly get better as it becomes clearer what's happening. The film is very funny in places and looks amazing; there are some parts which look photo realistic without ever feeling out of place. Just as things are starting to make sense, everything stops making sense but this time in a good way and it's here where the film really steps up to become truly great. It's a shame that the opening isn't as strong as it should be and other things such as subtitling issues (top and bottom of the screen at the same time, no subtitles for song lyrics) because when it is all working, it's really quite magnificent.
December 05, 2016 at 10:34PM
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