From legendary director Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Howl's Moving Castle) and the iconic Studio Ghibli, comes The Boy and the Heron.
Inspired by the 1937 novel How Do You Live? by Genzaburo Yoshino – with the film re-titled The Boy and the Heron for its international release – the story is Miyazaki's most personal film to date. It's based on his own childhood, as well as his career at Studio Ghibli with his close friends and co-founders, producer Toshio Suzuki and the late Isao Takahata (director of Grave of the Fireflies, and The Tale of Princess Kaguya).
This semi-autobiographical, hand-drawn fantasy for his grandson is his way of saying: "Grandpa is moving onto the next world soon, but he is leaving behind this film."
Set against the destruction of the Pacific in World War II, The Boy and the Heron follows a young boy named Mahito, yearning for his mother as he flees Tokyo for the countryside with his father.
As Mahito struggles with his new surroundings, he discovers an ancient tower neighbouring his new home that has a mysterious history tied to his family.
Prompted by the persistent urging of a strange grey heron, Mahito investigates the tower and enters a fantastic realm that transcends time and space, defying the confines of life and death itself.
This new film from Studio Ghibli – and said to be director Hayao Miyazaki's final film – is a soaring flight of imagination from a master storyteller about life, death and creation, with the familiar features which fans of the studio and director have come to know and love.
- Words by
- Joe Harris
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