5 Centimeters per Second

After graduating from elementary school, close friends Takaki and Akari are forced to leave each other because Akari is going to live elsewhere. Now they can keep in touch and share their feelings only through letters. Over time, the distance only increases, and the possibility of being together becomes more and more impossible... "5 CENTIMETERS PER SECOND" is a touching film about first love, missed opportunities and unshared feelings. It consists of three short stories set against the backdrop of Japan's magnificent landscapes. In his unique style, Makoto Shinkai explores the eternal theme of love, from the anticipation of meeting to heartbreak, showing how profoundly it affects our destiny. Although the film looks like a simple school melodrama, it unfolds before the viewer a life story of growing up through realistic characters, recognizable situations and a bittersweet atmosphere. Melancholy, longing for the lost and the unattainable permeate every frame of Shinkai's animated film, whether it's everyday scenes or images of cities, fields, seas and sky that are conveyed almost photographically. The film's title "5 CENTIMETERS PER SECOND" refers to the speed at which cherry blossom petals fall, symbolizing both the main characters' divergent life paths and the momentary nature of life and love.