The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
"Makoto: time waits for no one..."
Welcome back to "Rewrite!"
The Rundown
“The Girl Who Leapt Through Time” is the first truly recognized work of famed director Mamoru Hosoda, and follows a girl who has recently happened upon the ability to “leap” back through time. At first, she uses it for normal things any high-schooler would: making up tests, reverting back to make the day go just right, and avoiding awkward conversations. But as she further uses this ability, though, she begins to realize that the power may not be as inclusive as it seems.
The Past
This film is one that I’ve really been wanting to talk about on this “Rewrite” segment for a while now, and that’s not just for some unexplainable reason: it’s because I have an old review of mine on “the Girl Who Leapt Through Time.” I had originally typed this up on a Google Docs sheet in January 2015, and have never posted it anywhere since.
Here’s a few excerpts: “The praise that I must first give the film is definitely the third act. The final segment of the film has some really great character studies, plot points, and tense moments that make the previous two acts worth it. But throughout the whole film, however, the characters are very “real” and do reasonable things. They are fleshed out to the point where you fully accept them as people, and truly hope for them. … The screenplay is very distracting at times, featuring some very infrequent but awkward character interactions. One particular scene had me even chuckling at the extremely distracting interactions. … The first set up the intriguing plot and the third was just fantastic, but the second focused a bit more than necessary on a rather cheesy love plot.”
The Present
What was I thinking?! The third act is the best? I don’t even remember that ‘scene with awkward character interactions!’ And, worst of all: cheesy love plot?
My criticisms are almost completely flipped! While I love the whole film, I don’t see the last act as superior to the prior two, there were no awkward or badly handled character interactions to be seen (much less to even chuckle at), and don’t even get me started on the supposed ‘cheesy love plot.’
Let’s break these down, one by one. First off, the acts scenario: in my last recent viewing, I was pleasantly surprised by how I enjoyed every single one; there was no ‘better’ or ‘worse’ part. If anything, I’d say I enjoyed the first two acts slightly more so than the last, but I don’t think any one of them is better than the other. Secondly, I can’t really even comment on any awkward interactions… I’m scratching my head at this one.
Oof, and here we are: the last and final point I made… a cheesy love subplot. To keep it clean and simple, my response to my past self is: no. No, no, no. How is it cheesy? At best, it’s a graceful, eloquent take on relationships during high school. And at worst, there is no worst! It’s a fantastic aspect of the film, and I reflect back on my past opinions with confusion.
Overview
But, for the present, I think it’s a marvelous film. It marks the starting point of acclaimed director Mamoru Hosoda, and, even for that, it’s worth watching alone, though that’s quite unfair to say. “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time” is a well-written, comes-back-around emotion journey, filled with great, relatable characters, beautiful grace (visually and in a written sense), and a story that always moves forward.
9/10 (I had originally given the film a score of 7/10)- “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time” is a magnificent starting point in a genius’s career; touching, moving, and intelligent, this film is not to be missed.