The Boy and the Heron, 2023.
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki.
Featuring of the voice talents of Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda, Aimyon, and Yoshino Kimura.
SYNOPSIS:
Through encounters with his friends and uncle, The Boy and the Heron follows a teenage boy’s psychological development. He enters a magical world with a talking grey heron after finding an abandoned tower in his new town.
There are few animation studios as recognisable as Studio Ghibli, behind classics like Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, My Neighbour Totoro and many more. Hayao Miyazaki is synonymous with the studio and some of their best-loved works; he previously retired with 2013’s The Wind Rises but announced his first film in a decade The Boy and The Heron which was met with feverish anticipation by fans the world over. As it turns out this is not to be his farewell film but fans of animation and film more broadly are excited by the prospects of more output from one of the finest to work in the medium.
Straight away it’s clear Miyazaki has lost none of his power to enthral audiences with 12-year-old Mahito Maki losing his mother in a fire in the opening sequence, setting the tone for a contemplative film dealing with grief and change at a young age. Of course, lofty themes is nothing new for Ghibli but this sets the film’s stall out from the outset. The sequence involving the fire is nothing short of astonishing – one of the finest sequences Miyazaki and Ghibli have put to film, with immaculate animation and sound design; the crackle of the fire is terrifying and all-consuming, haunting Mahito’s nightmares.
Mahito’s family moves to the country away from Tokyo, fighting the war in the Pacific. As such the focus is less on the war and feels more personal, with Mahito’s father marrying a new woman in the interim. The early segments see Mahito come to terms with both his new surroundings and family.
From here it becomes somewhat of a greatest hits tour for Miyazaki with plenty of what fans have come to love from the director – fantastical worlds, quirky creatures and adventures aplenty. It is a thrilling ride showing he still has as vivid an imagination as ever. Once Mahito meets the titular Heron, the film becomes a romp, never short of exciting moments and twists with ingenious visuals.
Where this fails to match the likes of Spirited Away or Princess Mononoke is in its story and its resolution. For all its flawless visuals and the thrill of its capers, the story lurches about and never quite sticks the landing as some of Ghibli’s most loved works. It is an ambitious story, tackling several difficult themes and it perhaps becomes a victim of its own ambition. The story is not a complete failure by any means, but it robs it of ultimate greatness. For most studios, this would rank among their best but as a Studio Ghibli film, we perhaps unfairly have loftier expectations.
Nevertheless, The Boy and the Heron is a truly visual feast that is a welcome return for Hayao Miyazaki, tackling many themes that we have come to associate him with and a sense of creativity and fun that shows no sign of abating. The visuals alone warrant this as a must-watch but the story and its resolution is perhaps not quite up to the standard of their very best, but when there is such innovation and expressiveness on display this is only a minor gripe. If this doesn’t end up as Miyazaki’s final film it is a winning return and we can only hope there are more delightful adventures in store from a true master.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Chris Connor
