The Boy and the Heron (2023)
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Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Starring: Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda, Aimyon
Synopsis:
During World War II, a boy is moved to the countryside to live with his new stepmother, only to stumble onto the mystical secret of the family.
Impressions:
I had heard that Miyazaki's retirement hadn't stuck, but due to the studio's bizarre decision to release the film with no marketing whatsoever, I almost missed this movie's theatrical run (and I'm sure the film's box office is proof of how ill-advised this decision was from a business perspective). Anyway, I definitely wanted to see Miyazaki's final-for-real-this-time film on the big screen. Now, I will say that the lack of marketing meant that I went in without the slightest idea what this movie was about. I was expecting fantastical elements, but it takes some time to actually get to that and I do appreciate the slow burn to establish Mahito's character and his strained relationship with Natsuko. However, the trade-off is that there's less time to establish the mystical world and it feels more like a collection of disjointed episodes than a streamlined narrative (which may have been intentional on Miyazaki's part). I won't deny that the plotting is a bit messy and the performances can occasionally feel a bit stilted, but they don't reach the level of being a dealbreaker for me. These are things we've seen in Miyazaki's later films, but his ability to craft imaginative worlds and present some thought-provoking philosophical questions remains as strong as ever. Pair that with Studio Ghibli's trademark beautiful animation and Joe Hisashi's music and you have a cinematic experience that's well worth having and deserves a place in your collection.
Rating:
Own It