5 CENTIMETRES PER SECOND - *****

Directed by Makoto Shinkai. Anime. Cert 12.

Released in UK on DVD by Manga Entertainment on 14th March, £17.99.

5 CENTIMETRES PER SECOND’s title refers to the speed that a cherry blossom falls, and the concepts of speed, time and distance – literal and emotional – play a pivotal role in the film; themes that director Makoto Shinkai has previously explored in VOICES OF A DISTANT STAR and THE PLACE PROMISED IN OUR EARLY DAYS. This time Shinkai drops sci-fi and alternate world settings in favour of contemporary Japan, with 5 CENTIMETRES PER SECOND’s three connected short stories charting the relationship between main character Takaki and his childhood sweetheart Akari from their schooldays in the 1990s up to the present day. Without giving away spoilers, the film is a bittersweet study of love and separation with a tantalisingly unresolved ending. The latter has caught flak from some quarters, but if you can watch LOST IN TRANSLATION without obsessing over what Bill Murray whispers to Scarlett Johansson, it won’t bother you. Visually, 5 CENTIMETRES PER SECOND is also a treat. While the character design isn’t the strongest, there’s no doubt that this is an extremely pretty title – Takaki’s snow-delayed rail journey to see Akari in the film’s opening segment is a real tour de force, for example, with minutely observed details helping to make it one of the most effective sequences in the entire movie. Overall, 5 CENTIMETRES PER SECOND is a must-see for any anime fan – not for nothing has Makoto Shinkai been hailed by many as the next Miyazaki. If SUMMER WARS is the bums-on-seats blockbuster of 2011, 5 CENTIMETRES PER SECOND seems destined to be this year’s indie masterpiece.

David Axbey.