DER JUNGE UND DER REIHER
Review by Becky Tan
© STUDIO GHIBLI , INC .
DER JUNGE UND DER REIHER
THE BOY AND THE HERON KIMITACHI WA DO IKIRU KA
JAPAN 2023 OPENED JANUARY 4 , 2024
DIRECTED BY HAYAO MIYAZAKI
WRITING CREDITS : HAYAO MIYAZAKI
PRINCIPAL ACTORS : ANIMATION
It ’ s war in Tokyo , and the boy , Mahito , loses his mother in a huge fire . Life goes on with the help of seven elderly female housekeepers . His father has moved into the countryside to take over a factory . Here he has a girlfriend , Natsuko , who is pregnant . Mahito begins a new life with them ; he is lonely and has no friends in the new school . His “ friend ” in the end is a grey heron who follows him , talking continuously . A magical trick allows the bird to become a sort of human , stalking on bird ’ s legs . Mahito constructs a bow and arrow , using a few feathers from the heron , a useful help when he follows Natsuko , who disappears into the woods . Where is she ? Soon another young woman comes by on a boat . She is the older sister of Natsuko . Their search takes them to a tower , which was built and is still controlled by a great uncle , who sets up contact with Mahito . The uncle wishes for the boy to become his successor . And so the story continues into a new , mysterious world full of more birds , such as a parakeet king and many pelicans . Strange white round beings float and fly by .
This Manga-style animated film was sensationally successful — not only in its original country , Japan , but also in France , where it soon hit number one . It opened the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival . Director Hayao Miyazaki began his career in 1963 and has an amazing list of successful films , such as My Neighbor Totoro ( 1988 ) and Princess Mononoke ( 1998 ). The Boy and the Heron is partly autobiographical , reflecting Miyazaki ’ s own experiences leaving Tokyo during the bombings of World War II , finding a new life , establishing a relationship with his father , etc . Is this perhaps Myazaki ’ s final film ? He is now eighty-two years old and has been in the film business for over sixty years . The music by Joe Hisaishi fits perfectly , always remaining in background . Although this is animation , I recommend it for older children and adults . 64 minutes .
52 HAMBURG HAPPENINGS