Welcome to my full look at The Boy and the Heron. This movie has joined the list of my all-time favorite films, and makes the ideal swan song to Hayao Miyazaki as a director. Let’s open it up and find out why.
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| Japanese release poster for the film. |
The story follows a young man named Mahito Maki, and takes place in Japan in the 1940s. He and his father narrowly escape a hospital fire in the opening scene, which claims the life of his biological mother. This alone would be heavy, but his father also has to relocate to the countryside for his new job and to be closer to his new wife.
Even taking cultural and historical context into account (the “it can’t be helped” mindset is very much in play here); the story makes clear that both Mahito and his father are impacted by the loss of the one they love, albeit in very different ways. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to grief, and the movie knows that.
One quality I especially appreciate about this film is how it’s one of the few that shows the more subtle and numbing effects of grief. The scene where Mahito hits himself on the head with a rock just to feel something again is especially effective. Though the wound will heal and the hair will regrow; the scar will remain.
The original title of the film, “How Do You Live,” comes from an in-story journal left to Mahito by his mother. It’s a question the movie explores to answer, symbolized by at least half the pages in the journal being left open.
The inciting incident happens not long after that- Mahito’s stepmother, whose name is Natsuko is kidnapped and taken to a space between spaces. He must then form a reluctant alliance with a crotchety heron that he had a scrap with earlier in the story. Natsuko also resembles his birth mother by Mahito’s own admission; and she’s pregnant!
That is one key motivator for this character and story- it doesn’t always have to be about saving an entire kingdom or world, it can just be about saving one person, someone you love. Mahito fits that perfectly- He already lost one maternal figure; he’s not going to lose another.
As I have pointed out before, this film is also the reverse of Spirited Away- while both have a fantastic journey also serving as a personal one; the circumstances vary significantly. While Chihiro’s adventure is one she undergoes from a fork in the road and a magic spell; Mahito willingly takes the burden for both the sake of himself and for his father, Shoichi.
The spectral messages he gets are eerie on multiple levels, especially since it’s stated they never found the body at the start.
So, even with the stories he was told, Mahito ventures into the tower that was once the old estate. He not only isn’t fooled by the decoy, he nails the heron through the beak with an arrow made from his own number 7 flight feather.
After that, the heron grudgingly agrees to be Mahito’s guide, and their first stop is on a lush hillside by the sea. At its top, a golden gate marked with the words, “All those who seek my knowledge shall die.”
As a pod of pelicans narrowly envelops Mahito, but this gets the gate open and allows another to enter in a ring of fire and smoke. He then helps her get her ship back on the water; and the two even have a similar scar. I especially like how she doesn’t object when Mahito tells her he’s from “up there.”
The scene with them cleaning the fish for the “warawara” is also great, as we’re just about halfway through. Turns out the fisher is Kiriko when she was younger; with the same robe even. The carved dolls in her place also resemble the elderly caretakers he’s staying with too, so I agree not to knock them over.
As Mahito relieves himself out back, he sees the moon peering through the clouds at night, and the “Wara wara” floating into the sky. The way they ascend to another plane of life is among the many visual wonders this film has left to show.
The pelicans return, and then a mysterious spirit appears in a firework flash! It’s Lady Himi, and her spell helps drive the pelicans away. That night, Mahito encounters the heron again; along with a dying pelican. After helping dig a well the next morning, the two have tea together; and the resulting image joins the many iconic shots we’ve been given from Ghibli over their near 40-year history.
After that, the two continue searching for Natsuko together. The movie, like many of their works; also has effective stretches without dialogue. Kiriko gives Mahito a figurine of her older self; and he then sets off.
Back at the estate, Shoichi is swamped with work; and the absence of both his wife and son is weighing heavily on him. It also turns out the tower of the old estate showed up before the Meiji Restoration under mysterious circumstances. It’s also connected to Natsuko’s grand uncle, amazingly enough. Hisako even went in one day and didn’t come out for a year; which we will come back to. With this, Shoichi wants to see for himself. Fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree, does it?
Back with Mahito and the heron, the latter has to convince him to plug the hole he made in his beak; so he can change form again. So, he whittles a plug out of the end of his walking stick.
Then, they see the blacksmith’s house; and he’s a giant parakeet! It won’t be the last bird we encounter; and the symbolism fits remarkably well. Himi reappears in a veil of flames; and agree to take Mahito to Natsuko. He even turns down a chance to go back early to find her, and she’s about to have the child!
Making his way into the delivery room, despite her objections; Mahito is determined to bring Natsuko home! Fighting his way through streams of paper, Himi makes a plea to let them return home!
After that, the parakeets take Mahito to see the master tower builder; who is his great grand uncle! He presents him the chance to be his successor, otherwise, there’s only one day left in his world.
Then, Mahito is helped out of his bonds by the heron before he’s cooked and eaten by the parakeets! Turns out their king is planning to present Himi as an offering to the grand uncle, so that escalated quickly. With the heron’s help, Mahito is able to reach them, reshape their worlds and bring Natsuko home just in time!
Mahito, upon being embraced; comes to the realization that Himi is a reincarnation of Hisako all along! That’s why they never found her at the start!
It’s in this other realm that he realizes what he was told meant- his mother is alive; and so are the hopes and dreams of her family. With this, Mahito’s journey is complete.
We close on Mahito returning to the mainland with his new family, including his newborn sister. Her name is after his birth mother Hisako, and I have always liked that form of rebirth. I also note this marks my 750th post here- not bad for someone who's semi-retired this blog to a "whenever I feel" schedule.
If this is truly the last movie we’re getting from him; it is the ideal one to go out on. It was widely acclaimed by the press and nearly everyone who saw it; culminating in a very deserved Best Animated Feature win.
It also proved to be a major commercial success, grossing over $172 million worldwide on a $32 million budget. It even made a respectable $46 million in the US; easily marking the director’s most successful work here.
I cannot say enough how much I love this movie; and if you have not seen it, I sincerely recommend doing so. Thank you for letting me share this with you all, and I will see you all another day.
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