IronWatcher’s review published on Letterboxd:
Watched in the cinema (178th visit in 2023)
Studio Ghibli co-founder and animation film pioneer Hayao Miyazaki has threatened us four times since 1997, after the huge success of "Princess Mononoke", that he would soon be retiring. Fortunately, he has changed his mind each time and given us masterpieces such as "Spirited Away", "Howl's Moving Castle" and "The Wind Rises". "The Boy and the Heron" is now to be his last work. It is therefore very fitting that the film deals with themes such as letting go, grief and one's own legacy - the work of an artist reflecting on his life. This makes his work a very mature, melancholy movie that is not very suitable for children.
While visually the film is a true masterpiece, Miyazaki overwhelms you with a world that functions according to its own laws and logic and in which much is presented as fact, which should confuse you above all else. However, the dream-like sequences in the magical world in which Mahito finds himself never claim to be logical. In it, the young hero is forced to come to terms with his grief; a process that, by its very nature, defies logic.
It is precisely here that the film gains emotional depth and realistically shows that, in addition to sadness, dealing with grief involves a whole rollercoaster of emotions that can sometimes be ugly and brutal, but can also be cheerful and optimistic. "The Boy and the Heron" may not be Miyazaki's best film: it takes too long to get to a point, is a little tough in between, confusing in large parts and a pure sensory overload on top. And yet its brilliance cannot be denied, even if it is less suitable for the masses than Miyazaki's other works: a film that wants to be felt and not understood.
IronWatcher liked this review
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