Hayao Miyazaki passes the baton to the next generation with the latest film
A poster for “The Boy and the Heron” displayed in front of a movie theater in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward (Koichiro Yoshida)
Hayao Miyazaki’s first full-length animated film in 10 years, “The Boy and the Heron,” is an orthodox fantasy story that sees the protagonist enter an alternate reality where he grows up before returning to the real world.
The fantasy film, the maestro’s 12th offering, paints a rich tapestry filled with visual wonders augmented by first-rate animation technology.
Yet, it lacks a dramatic hook and fails to delve deeper into the bitterness and inner turmoil that marked the director’s previous outing, “The Wind Rises,” which was also against the background of Japan headed for defeat in World War II.
That aside, the anime maestro delivers a strong message to audiences at the end.
The story centers around a boy named Mahito, who loses his mother in an air raid.
He evacuates to his mother’s family home, where her younger sister Natsuko is married to his father and already pregnant.
A mysterious tower stands in a corner of the vast estate. Mahito is led into a magical labyrinth inside the tower by a man with the body of a grey heron, who tells the boy that he will find Natsuko, who has abruptly disappeared, and his dead mother there.
The movie is sprinkled with scenes and characters reminiscent of Miyazaki’s previous works, bringing the director full circle.
It also contains autobiographical elements: Mahito’s evacuation, air raid experiences, and having a father operating a munitions factory.
The boy harbors a deep grudge over the loss of his mother, but his heart begins to loosen up as he interacts with the trickster heron and feels the kindness of people around him.
But the driving force of the story is weakened because the movie lacks punch in portraying how Mahito was loved by his mother and how he establishes an emotional bond with Natsuko.
An old man with white hair, the master of the labyrinth, appears at the end and tries to persuade Mahito to take over the task to which he devoted his adult life.
The old man--another manifestation of Miyazaki--gives the boy 13 stacking blocks made of a special stone, telling him to build a rich, peaceful, and beautiful world.
It is a message from the director, in which he says he has done everything he could and asks the next generation to take over the baton and build the future.
“The Boy and the Heron” is currently showing nationwide.