“The Boy and the Heron” is a 2023 Japanese animated film directed by the one and only Hayao Miyazaki. This is to be Miyazaki’s final film before the 83-year-old director retires from feature films — a statement he has made at least three times throughout his career. Due to his age, Miyazaki did not oversee every frame of animation like with his other films and was only able to animate one minute of footage himself per month, rather than 10 minutes per month like on earlier projects. Despite this, Miyazaki has created another incredible film to add to his long list of achievements.
The film itself is loosely autobiographical, with the main character Mahito (Soma Santoki) being partially based on Miyazaki as a child. Like Mahito, Miyazaki’s father was employed in making fighter planes during World War II and with having to evacuate from Tokyo to the countryside. In the film, while Mahito explores the estate of his aunt Natsuko (Yoshino Kimora), who also becomes his stepmother, he discovers a strange gray heron (Masaki Soda) and a strange tower. After Natsuko disappears, Mahito adventures into a strange world to find her, teaming up with the heron, the fisher-woman Kiriko (Ko Shibasaki) and the magical Lady Himi (Aimyon). Throughout his adventure, Mahito makes peace with the loss of his mother and accepts Natsuko as his new mother. Mahito also learns to accept and embrace the world he comes from, from the painful to the beautiful.
“The Boy and the Heron” is a hard film to review, for it is a story that should be experienced without knowing much (if anything) about the story. When I heard about this film, I avoided it as much as I could, not watching the trailers or looking at any reviews. I feel like that is the best way to watch this film because it truly is an experience. The world that Miyazaki creates is so imaginative, abstract and complex that I will need to rewatch the film multiple times in order to even attempt to understand it. All I can really say is that this film is gorgeous, with some scenes featuring some of the best animation I have seen from the studio (other that “The Tale of the Princess Kaguya”). I also fell in love with the soundtrack (which I am listening to as I write this review). Joe Hisaishi, once again, has crafted an incredible musical score that makes me feel the melancholy of life, but makes me appreciate it all the same. Miyazaki and Hisaishi have created a film that really reflects the original Japanese title, “Kimitachi wa Dō Ikiru ka,” or “How do you Live?”
This is a weird one for me. I have not placed a score on the film because I do not know yet what to rate it. Objectively, it should not work. The film’s pacing and plot are all over the place, making it hard to follow at times. This is another Miyazaki film where, despite the world feeling too big for the story, it works somehow. I was on board for each turn the plot took and the next strange oddities that were introduced. This is a film each person will walk away from with something a little different. Should this be Miyazaki’s true swan song, “The Boy and the Heron” is a high note to end on.