Film review: ‘THE BOY AND THE HERON’ by Nick Gardener from ‘Built For Speed’

Hayao Miyazaki is one of the great cinema artists of recent decades. Through the famed Studio Ghibli he has helped craft an animation style as evocative, moving and meaningful as any Disney classic or live action film for that matter.

After claiming to have retired in 2013 he has returned with the long awaited The Boy And The Heron. The film had a difficult gestation with delays (partly due to Covid) which resulted in it taking around seven years to make.  It’s also purported to be the most expensive film made in Japan.  Thankfully, the film maintains the remarkable standard Miyazaki has set in his previous works.  While it doesn’t have quite the emotional impact of film’s like The Tale of the Princess Kaguya and When Marnie Was There, in the scope of its otherworldly invention and general weirdness, this is probably his most fantastical film, even more so than Spirited Away which is its closest reference point.

As in Spirited Away and many Studio Ghibli works, The Boy and the Heron features a child forced to leave their home before entering a fantasy world that mirrors and has lessons for their normal life.  Here 12-year-old Mahito (Luca Padovan in the English dubbed version), still traumatised by his mother’s death during bombing in Tokyo in 1943, moves to the countryside where his father has married Mahito’s aunt.  There, the boy struggles to cope with life in this new town and the resentful locals. Oddly, he’s also plagued by a grey heron that has sinister looking teeth and seems to speak to him in an evil voice (Robert Pattinson), telling him his mother still lives.  When the aunt goes missing, the heron leads Mahito into a mysterious and allegedly magical tower that acts as a gateway to a bizarre alternate world in which past and present seem to coexist.  While Mahito searches for the aunt, he encounters a collection of strange creatures including giant, person-eating parakeets, an angelic fire wielding girl (Karen Fukuhara) and a creepy wizard (Mark Hamill) who tells him he has an unexpected purpose in life.

Like many Studio Ghibli films, The Boy and the Heron touchingly explores the complexities of leaving childhood, the impact of childhood trauma and the hope that children offer the world.  Apparently, some of the events are inspired by Miyazaki’s own childhood experiences. The film also makes various Japanese cultural allusions and historical references including discomforting links to imperial Japan in the Second World War (albeit rendered very fancifully).

This film contains one of the more intricate and convoluted plots of a Ghibli film which makes it a little tricky to follow in places and also leads to some overly expository dialogue as characters describe what’s going on.

Typically, the animation is stunning. The film looks like a moving water colour and is unlike anything in western cinema.  Each surface ripples with emotion, something enhanced by long-time Miyazaki collaborator composer Joe Hisashi’s moving score.  The star-studded English language voice cast also includes Florence Pugh, Christian Bale and Dave Bautista and all do a fine job.

It’s important to note, this is one of the more violent Ghibli films, with a few moments that are more akin to horror and some of which are a little grotesque. Also, like many Ghibli films, there are a number of quirky comical characters whom some love but I find clash with the sombre tone and beauty of the film overall.

A few minor quibbles only slightly detract from what is once again a ravishing piece of animated cinema from the maestro, Hayao Miyazaki.

Nick’s rating: ****

Genre: Drama/ Action/ Adventure/ Animation.

Classification: PG.

Director(s): Hayao Miyazaki.

Release date: 7th Dec 2023.

Running time: 124 mins.

Reviewer: Nick Gardener can be heard on “Built For Speed” every Friday night from 8-10pm on 88.3 Southern FM.

 

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