Turtles are Surprisingly Fast Swimmers

Suzume has a rather ordinary life. So ordinary in fact that it means she is perfectly qualified to be a spy, a profession she rather unexpectedly finds herself in whilst in search of a little excitement. The thing is though, being a spy requires that you don’t draw too much attention to yourself – be as ordinary as possible. Thats pretty much the whole plot. But I am not sure the plot is really the point. Although Suzume may be quite ordinary, the world she inhabits absolutely isn’t. It is a sort of colour clash of interesting people doing slightly wonky things. The best thing about it is that everyone is enjoying themselves immensely, just going about their everyday lives. I didn’t really want the film to end just because it is so nice to spend time in Suzumes world. I think, lurking somewhere in the day-glo innards of this film is a poignant, and interesting point about the pleasure we take (or do not take) in the everyday and how we conduct ourselves as we go about our boring business. Though if director Miki Satoshi thinks it is important he certainly isn’t that bothered about making it obvious, it seems much more like he just wants you to enjoy yourself. It would be easy to pick holes in this film, as noted the plot is pretty anemic, and if it has a point its willfully obscure and entirely unresolved. For me though this didn’t matter one bit, I’d happily return to Suzumes world and spend a little time just sitting on the park bench, feeding the ants.