Once I finished watching the Academy Award-winning film The Boy and the Heron, I had to refrain myself from immediately watching it again. That’s how good it is. It is a fantastical story which is loosely based on Hayao Miyazaki’s own life. The whole movie shows how one person manages to build a plethora of worlds, much like Miyazaki himself.

Movie Information:

Genre:
Anime / Fantasy

Main Cast:
Soma Santoki / Luca Padovan
Masaki Suda / Robert Pattinson
Aimyon / Karen Fukuhara
Yoshino Kimura / Gemma Chan
Takuya Kimura / Christian Bale
Shōhei Hino / Mark Hamill
Ko Shibasaki / Florence Pugh
Kaoru Shibasaki / Willem Dafoe

Distributed By:
Toho

Duration:
2 hours and 4 minutes

Movie Rating:
8.5/10

Movie Plot:

Set in 1943 during the Pacific War in Japan, Mahito loses his mother in a hospital fire. He and his father, Soichi, leave Tokyo and go to the countryside. There lives Mahito’s pregnant aunt, Natsuko, who is also Soichi’s new wife. Mahito encounters a grey heron, who speaks to him and guides him to an abandoned tower, which was build by Mahito’s ancestor. The heron promises that he can bring back Mahito’s mother, but his plan is thwarted by Natsuko who saves her nephew. However, Natsuko soon after disappears into the forest and Mahito (with the help of an elderly maid, Kimiko) goes to find her. The heron lures them into the tower, which transports Mahito to a different world. There, he tries to find Natsuko with the help of the heron, a young Kimiko and a mysterious pyrokinetic young girl called Lady Himi.

Style and Writing:

The Boy and the Heron is truly an amazing piece of art. Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki are well-known for creating astonishing animation, as well as extremely well-written plots. This movie is no exception to the artistic brilliance of Miyazaki. Its animation is breathtaking, its music score is dreamy and the plot is captivating. From gorgeous green hills, to vibrant blue oceans, Miyazaki excels at introducing the audience to the beauty of this fantastical world. There were some scenes that the animation differed greatly from Studio Ghibli’s other productions, such as Mahito’s nightmare sequences that masterfully captured his terror and his sorrow.

While watching this movie I felt that I was in a fever dream, where everything and nothing made sense at the same time. That is the magic of The Boy and the Heron. It baffles and mesmerizes all viewers, no matter how old. This is a story that explores so many different topics that even this review cannot analyze them all. It is a coming-of-age story, that talks about life, death, love, loss, the desire to make a better world, friendship and selflessness.

Characters:

Mahito is a young boy, who lost his mother and he experiences many difficult changes in a very short period. He deliberately hurts himself in order to escape from the difficultness of reality. He is called at some point to decide: “Would you rather create a perfect world, or live in a flawed one?” At the end of the day he is still a child that has not come to terms with his mother’s passing. He finds it difficult to love Natsuko, who reminds him so much of her. The whole film revolves around one thing that he must do: Become less selfish and learn to live for others.

One of the many highlights of this film is the fun relationship between Mahito and the heron. At first they hated each other, but  they slowly build a kind of friendship. Mahito’s relationship with the other characters is equally important. With Natsuko, their relationship is the focal point of the entire movie. Does he want to find her because he cares about her? Or is he just doing his duty as her step-son? And then there is Kimiko and Himi, who help him with his journey as a character. They provide him with important lessons about how his actions affect people who love him, but he pushes away.

I can say with certainty that I cannot stop thinking about how amazing this film is. I have always been a fan of Studio Ghibli, which resulted in me being a fan of anime. The entire time I watched The Boy and the Heron, I found myself making comparisons with Spirited Away. Both movies follow young children who are searching for their lost family members in a supernatural world. They both undergo a journey of self-discovery and they befriend fantastical beings along the way. But this should not be taken as a sign of lazy writing. The whole appeal of Studio Ghibli is how it can transport us to different fantastical worlds, filled with mesmerizing music, magical creatures and relatable characters.

Nevertheless, I think that it is important to say that The Boy and the Heron is an acquired taste. This movie will not easily connect with average viewers who are not familiar with Studio Ghibli’s storytelling. It is chaotic and rarely makes sense. But Miyazaki’s films rarely rely on logic. It is quite the opposite in fact. They rely on feelings and fascination. To understand his films, we need to open our hearts, not our brains.

Overall, The Boy and the Heron is both delightful and wonderful. It can create strong feelings for those who are willing to throw logic out of the window. Because the only way to actually watch Miyazaki’s films is to see them through the eyes of your inner child. And only then do you truly understand the brilliant and well-thought themes that he shares with all of us. For you anime-enthusiasts, it is a must-watch. And for you who are not so keen on anime, I say this: “Do yourself a favor. Give this movie a chance”.

Written by Demetris Bougiouris