“The Boy and the Heron” opens at the M.V. Film Center on Friday, Dec. 22. This animated film is by the Oscar-winning director Hayao Miyazaki, considered one of the greatest filmmakers of animation.
Making “The Boy and the Heron” for his grandson, Miyazaki creates a world set in a realistic WWII background in which a 12-year-old boy named Mahito finds his mother has died in a fire despite his desperate attempts to save her. A year later, his father, Shoichi, moves the family to the country to be near the family factory, as well as to Mahito’s new stepmother, Natsuko, who is his mother’s younger sister. Miyazaki incorporates a very realistic background, while his characters appear more like cartoon figures. The animator works in the style of Japanese culture, and uses fairytales, also in the manga tradition. The narrative is reminiscent of “Ulysses.”
Angry and grieving for his dead mother, Mahito is confronted by a talking heron who insists his mother is still alive, and supports him in his endeavors. He enters a magical world where the living and the dead are shared. It is a place in which Mahito may find a new beginning for himself.
The nearby deteriorating tower has an appeal for him. He sees the possibility of reviving his deceased mother through dream logic and the heron. At first Mahito is hostile toward the heron, shooting at him with his bow and arrow, but he gradually begins to accept him. Other important figures in Mahito’s life include his stepmother, Natsuko, who carried his newborn sibling, and his colleague, Kokichi, who supported him.
Viewers will find in Miyazaki a remarkable animator and compelling filmmaker in “The Boy and the Heron.”
Information and tickets for “The Boy and the Heron” are available at mvfilmsociety.com.