After eleven years since the release of The Wind Rises, Miyazaki has returned to the screen with The Boy and the Heron, his most recent picture. It’s simple to understand why critics and viewers who have already had the opportunity to see this animated fantasy movie have given it unanimous praise.
Here’s the Review
The movie exudes the wonder and mystique that one would expect from a Miyazaki production. You constantly wonder where these roads will take our protagonist Mahito and what historical events led to the locations he goes through as he explores the uncharted. Mahito’s mother perishes in a hospital fire in an early scene. He was defined by his regret and anguish because he was powerless to stop it from happening. Natsuko, the younger sister of Mahito’s deceased wife, is the new bride. This seems to be the emotional centre of the first act for the most part. As Mahito tries to accept his pregnant stepmother, you can sense their tension.
The Boy and the Heron invites you to become involved in a variety of interactions as Mahito encounters numerous people while travelling. He runs into his great-uncle as well as Kiriko, a seafarer, and Himi, a woman with magical abilities. We don’t learn enough about the supporting individuals for them to make an impact, despite the possibility that each of his connections with them would have been distinctive and fascinating. With an adventure narrative that depends on these ties to seem meaningful, the character interactions feel hollower than they should.
The Boy and the Heron, on the other hand, overflows with fantastical creatures. A heron in the middle of it all tells Mahito that his mother is still alive. Mahito follows this on a fantastic journey. He sets off to find out if his mother is still alive, and in the process enters a strange new realm filled with exotic animals. Some of the imagery is startlingly explicit, and there are characters and concepts that occasionally seem out of character with the rest of the movie.
Dark, unsettling concepts are scattered all over. However, they are never explored in the film for a length that would detract from the overall impact.