Review by Dennis D. McDonald

This movie, an original story from the MAPPA production house, plays in very original ways with some familiar as well as unfamiliar (to me) themes.

The viewer needs to be aware when going in that some strange events are going to be on display. A group of young teens copes with life in an isolated town where time has stopped, it's always winter, and they and the rest of the townspeople have all stopped aging. But the outside world can be glimpsed occasionally when cracks appear in reality, cracks that are repaired by giant smoke monsters that appear in the sky in the form of dragon-like wolves.

That is a lot to take in. The casual viewer cannot be faulted for reacting negatively to the weirdness (which is, in fact, presented via some very striking and universally gorgeous animation).

All that is background to the main characters, a boy and two girls. The boy is experiencing not only normal adolescent angst but is increasingly frustrated by the isolation imposed by the town and its between-realities position.

One of the girls lives alone on the outskirts of town. She has her own personal demons. Naturally, she and the boy are attracted to each other, but it is a prickly attraction that does not play out smoothly.

The other girl is an almost feral child who appears to be aging normally. She lives in a huge grotesquely architected abandoned steel mill on the outskirts of the town. It is the source of the town’s woes. It was a massive explosion at the steel mill years ago that initiated the rift between the town, its people, and outside reality. Now many of the townspeople treat the abandoned steel mill as a spiritual force that must be placated.

Yes, that is a lot to take in. Viewers that dislike "loose ends" may have a tough time with this gorgeous movie. I have a high personal tolerance for ambiguity, so I was not really bothered. In fact, I found the overall mix to be consistently entertaining, even challenging, even as some of the events portrayed border on the disturbing.

Still, the 3 main characters are the focus of the story. All are marvelously voiced by the Japanese voice cast. This is another movie to add to the list of films that do not treat adolescents as mindless school-going drones. There is some realistic goofiness here, but that just serves to underline the stresses these young people are undergoing. Their personal stories play out convincingly despite the fantastic events that surround them. Highly recommended!

Review copyright 2024 by Dennis D. McDonald

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