The following contains spoilers for Belle by Mamoru Hosoda, now streaming on Vudu, Amazon Prime Video, and Google Play TV & Movies.
Belle was one of the biggest anime movies to come out in 2021. This is owed in no small part to the hard work of Studio Chizu and Mamoru Hosoda. The film itself has, among other things, a touching story, great art, relatable characters, and, most importantly, a beautiful soundtrack. All of these things are especially noticeable in the climax of the movie.
The performance of "A Million Miles Away" isn't just a good climax for an anime movie but for movies in general. From the song to its execution to its context within the movie, everything aout this scene works to deliver a stunning conclusion to the main character's arc. It's as captivating, it's emotionally charged, and it's spectacular. Here's how this climax was built up and what it got right.
Like any good climax, what makes it truly important is everything leading up to it. Throughout the movie, Suzu Naito is physically incapable of singing, even to herself. This is related to a past experience where she lost her mother, which also caused her to close herself off from the world. The only way she can sing is in the virtual world of U under the alias Belle.
While singing in U, Belle encounters the anonymous "Dragon." She recognizes him as a kindred spirit and reaches out to him. While Belle is able to connect with him, the rest of U's users have trouble seeing past his antagonistic behavior. As such, the hunt is on to uncover the Dragon's true identity.
In the real world, Suzu and her friends are able to deduce the Dragon's identity before anyone else, but it's not a pretty picture. The real Dragon is a boy named Kei who is both physically and verbally abused by his father at home. Suzu tries to reach out to him via video call so they can find a way for her to help.
Unfortunately, Kei doesn't trust Suzu will do anything, nor does he believe her when she says she's Belle, so he ends the call. Suzu tries to find the Dragon in U, but she's overwhelmed by a massive crowd of avatars who think she's about to put on an impromptu concert. With this, Suzu finds herself out of ideas for reaching Kei.
Suzu's friend Shinobu comes up with a solution, though it isn't an easy one. Suzu would have to sing in U not as Belle but as herself. This would prove to Kei the truth in her words, but it would also require her to overcome her longtime trauma and general anxiety. She naturally hesitates, but ultimately finds the courage to put Kei's needs before her own.
In front of a worldwide audience, Suzu allows her Belle avatar to come undone, leaving only the image of an ordinary high school girl. There's a clamor among the crowd, but much of it goes silent when the music starts. This literal moment of truth is where the climax begins.
For her last big performance, Suzu sings "A Million Miles Away." This isn't a big, loud production like "U" or "Fama Destinata" or even "Gales of Song." It has a slow, quiet melody that complements the melancholic longing within its lyrics.
Despite Suzu's resolve to sing, it's not easy for her. This is the single most vulnerable moment of the young girl's life, as it would be for anyone in that situation. She averts her eyes, visibly trembles, and even turns her back to the crowd. It's only the cheers and pleas of the audience that keep her going.
Suddenly, as Suzu is singing, she realizes something about her mother. When she died, it was to save someone else's child from drowning in a river. Suzu never understood why her mother would die for someone else's child, which is what led to her traumatic feelings of abandonment.
However, what Suzu is doing in this moment is precisely what her mother did. She's putting everything on the line for the sake of helping a virtual stranger. With this newfound sense of self-sacrifice, she finally understands and accepts her mother's actions and even feels a little closer to her.
The epiphany causes her to break down crying in the middle of her performance. The raw emotions she feels manifest as a warmly glowing orb emerging from her chest. Suzu is literally baring her soul.
The cries of Suzu's soul have not fallen on deaf ears. Everyone in the audience is awestruck by this genuine display of emotions. Their eyes are wide open and overflowing with tears; their mouths are agape, and they're at a loss for words; they all begin letting their own souls out. The combined lights from all these users illuminate the world of U like a sea of fireflies.
When it seems like Suzu might stop singing because it's all too much for her, the audience encourages her to keep going. They sing the interlude while she's crying, hoping she'll eventually finish the rest of the song. Among this massive crowd are her friends, her mom's friends, and even a rival songstress. Suzu has resonated with all of these people and in return, they support her and give her the strength to go on.
Finally, Suzu is ready to sing again, but something's changed about her song. It's more upbeat, more energetic, and even triumphant. The lyrics go from being about missing someone to the joys of singing. Suzu has finally found her passion and fully embraced it. From this point on, She's going to sing not just as a memento to her mother but also because she loves it so much. With this, the song ends and there's a fade to black.
On its own, this performance is amazing. As a climax to Belle, it's perfection. Besides being a masterpiece of sights and sounds, there are so many things about the movie as a whole that contextualize this scene and add to its emotional depth.
For one thing, Suzu's choice to perform is inspiring. She faced her deathly fear of singing as herself so that she could help somebody in need. And she won. This is both a moral and a spiritual victory for her and the person she's helping.
The performance also serves to highlight how far Suzu has come on her journey to rediscover her love for singing. In the first act, she actually tried singing "A Million Miles Away" in the real world, only to let it out in a highly strained voice and ultimately throw up due to her trauma; all she could do at this point was cry. Again, if it weren't for U's ability to bring out a user's inner strengths, she may never have sung again. In the second act, after some time as Belle, she tried singing in the real world again; her voice was still strained, but she could at least sing without getting sick. By the climax, she was finally able to sing clearly, but there was still trepidation in her performance. By the end of the song, she's brimming with joy, passion, and confidence and delivers a heartfelt conclusion. Seeing her go from vomiting by herself to performing like this in front of the largest crowd imaginable is both satisfying and relieving.
The choice of song is also important because of Suzu's personal investment in it. The lyrics represent Suzu's struggle throughout her life to find meaning and passion in singing following her mother's death. They are a message to her mother saying how much she misses her, how much it hurts her, and how much she wants to see her again. It's a song of both great sorrow and great hope.
It's worth noting that the climax isn't the first place "A Million Miles Away" comes up in the movie. The melody is played over a series of flashbacks involving Suzu's mother. Thus, the song invokes not only melancholy but also a vague nostalgia.
Also, again, "A Million Miles Away" is the song Suzu tried desperately to sing earlier in the movie. While she failed, hearing it at that moment indicates it's something she's been thinking about for a long time. She's wanted to express her love and longing for her mother through song, but it's been hard. This struggle to get the song out makes hearing her perform it in its entirety for the climax all the more gratifying.
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What's more, Suzu's body language as she sings reveals a lot about what she's thinking and feeling; her voice, her hand movements, her facial expressions, and the look in her eyes. All of it serves to show how uniquely deep and personal this performance is, especially when she falters. Even if someone else were to sing "A Million Miles Away," they could never give the song the same depth of meaning as Suzu. This isn't just a song to her, it's her life.
In all these ways and more, Belle's climax is peak cinema. It has a unique setup, solution, and outcome, it culminates the events of the story to complete Suzu's character arc, and it captivates the audience with emotional waves of sadness, joy, surprise, exhilaration, and satisfaction. This is what earned the movie a 14-minute standing ovation. Anyone calling themselves a fan of either anime or cinema needs to see Belle, if only to get the full effect of this scene.
Belle is streaming on Vudu, Amazon Prime Video, and Google Play Movies & TV as of May 3. It will be available on DVD and Blu-Ray starting May 17.