Weathering with You

An old tale taken from Japan's ancient Shinto myths and projected onto a bleak near-future of floods, pollution, and global warming, Weathering with You follows the difficult lives of a runaway and a lonely girl who has recently lost her mother. Sixteen-year-old Hodaka arrives penniless in rainy Tokyo and finds shelter and employment with Suga, a detective who runs a sketchy occult magazine. Working on the urban legends column, Hodaka is asked to track down a rumoured hare onna, or "clear-weather woman," someone with the magical powers to part the clouds and let bright rays of sunlight shine through. His investigation leads him to Hina, the kind-hearted, gentle girl who works at a burger shop and offered him food when he was starving. Hina has the power to control the sky — a gift that could bring unexpected wealth in a perpetually wet and overcast city like Tokyo. (Toronto International Film Festival)