For much of the film, I felt kept at a distance. Rich images and inventive creatures filled the screen, but the story wandered in ways I couldn’t quite follow. I’ve often struggled with Studio Ghibli, and this seemed another that would elude me.
Then, in the final stretch, the pieces aligned. Grief, memory, and the burden of inheritance coalesced into a parable that felt unmistakably personal. Miyazaki seemed to be revisiting his wartime childhood while also confronting the question of legacy—what to carry forward, and what to lay down.
What endures is less a plot than a state of feeling—unsettling at times, but ultimately generous. The Boy and the Heron may not be the easiest to grasp, yet by its close it felt like a parting gift, moving because of the effort it asked me to make.
FILM & WATCHED Been waiting ages for this to get a release and it may have been me but I found it a crushing disappointment. Loved all of Miyazaki’s films but this never seemed to engage -there is a narrative there but so much of it seems to be disjointed scenes that never seem to go anywhere . Characters are introduced then dissapear again and a lot of it is very confusing and borderline baffling. Even the animation seems to be a bit flat - you never get that sense of wonder as you do with the others. As I say I may be missing something but although I really wanted to connect with it - it just never happened. So because it’s Miyazaki 3/3……