Co-directed with Yoshio Suzuki, Shinkai's remarkable feature film debut at the age of thirty-two immediately established him as a talented filmmaker with a unique vision. His sci-fi scenario is set in a Japan that has been divided into the Union-controlled North and the US-controlled South. When their mutual friend Sayuri suddenly disappears, teenage prodigies Hiroki and Takuya eventually go their separate ways. Years later, Takuya, a physicist, is drawn into a complex world of dreams, revolutionary fronts, government conspiracies and multiple realities. With Japan on the brink of war, the two friends are finally reunited in their shared grief over Sayuri, upon whose mysterious fate the whole world may depend.

Age recommendation: 12+