A Movie Review of The Boy and the Heron
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Writer: Hayao Miyazaki (Screenplay)
Cast
- Soma Santoki (The Days)
- Masaki Suda (Wilderness Part One)
- Ko Shibasaki (Battle Royale)
- Christan Bale (Hostiles)
- Robert Pattinson (Waiting for the Barbarians)
- Dave Bautista (Final Score)
- Gemma Chan (The Creator)
- Willem Dafoe (The Card Counter)
Plot: A young boy named Mahito yearning for his mother ventures into a world shared by the living and the dead. There, death comes to an end, and life finds a new beginning. A semi-autobiographical fantasy from the mind of Hayao Miyazaki.
Runtime: 2 Hours 4 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: The Boy and the Heron starts when Mahito’s mother is killed during the war. One year later, his father Shoichi takes him out of Tokyo to be safer with his new mother Natsuko. However, he finds himself having an unusual connection with a Grey Heron.
When Natsuko goes missing, Mahito goes in search being guided by the Grey Heron. However, the world he enters is different to anything he has experienced before. Now, he must navigate the world to save his new mother and get home safely.
Verdict on The Boy and the Heron
The Boy and the Heron is a fantasy adventure following a boy travelling to an unknown world to rescue his new stepmum. In this journey, he must tackle his grief of losing his mother and understand people in life will be there to love him.
This is a unique experience in dealing with grief. It takes us down a fantasy world we know Hayao Miyazaki can take us down. The world created is beautiful and pure fantasy and imagination like no other. Even though this is a different creation, you can see a lot of Spirited Away in this journey. This is a beautiful story filled with peril, with a much deeper meaning.
Final Thoughts – The Boy and the Heron is an amazing journey through a beautiful creation.
