The Boy and the Heron

The Boy and the Heron (Hayao Miyazaki, 2023)

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Rating: Q=4, P=4 / Drooling

Scale O=4, Scale P=4, Scale Q=4, Scale R=4, Scale S=4

Animation, Coming of Age, Grief and Coping, Fantasy, Adventure

I had never managed to see a Miyazaki film in the theater when first released. And I never thought I would be able to until I heard that the master filmmaker's (likely) final film, The Boy and the Heron, was finally complete.

There is so much emotion in this film and I can feel the finality of this one--from the topic/storyline to the urgent pace, and the many meanings. Miyazaki is the sage imparting his final words of wisdom on us in each moment. This story is a swirling, twisting dream-like adventure that grapples with very real and difficult questions. How do you grieve and cope? Why is life full of pain? What is the purpose of living? And the broadest one, from the novel referenced in the story and the Japanese title, How do you live? This is not a light film. There are a few cheerful moments and some occasional light-hearted humor, but it is ultimately a serious story. I will need to watch this again and again to notice everything and to understand all that is going on. I don't think Miyazaki meant for this tale to be entirely comprehensible on the first or even second viewing. Like the philosophical questions the characters seek to answer, the film viewer (and the director, too) must search in lots of places and ways to find the answers. And that takes time. A whole lifetime, maybe.

A beautiful film that I will watch many times again, I'm sure.

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