I must admit off the bat that I don't watch too many of them: anime films. This style of movies originating from Japan however can be great! The latest anime I watched is no exception.
While visiting my parents over the holidays we were given some vouchers for movie tickets. They were to expire by the end of 2023 so we were forced to use them basically immediately. The vouchers were only valid in one of the main block-buster commercial cinemas we have in the Netherlands. More than often their movie offerings are mediocre at best. As was the case now.
The list of movies currently screening was not too exciting. A title I didn't know anything about was called The Boy and the Heron. It turned out to be a anime and after some consideration we decided to give it a go. It turned out to be a good choice!
Another Gem from Ghibli
The Boy and the Heron is a production by Studio Ghibli, a Japanese movie production studio responsible for some famous titles. Among them Spirited Away and Castle in the Sky. What I like about the movies by Studio Ghibli is their ability to take you to an imaginary world in an instant.
Here's a great example of beautiful scenics in the movie. It's an art piece by itself. A screenshot taken from the official trailer.
With beautiful scenic just feel right from the moment they are projected on the big screen. And I'm not even starting about their choice in music. They really work together in perfect symbiosis.
Even their logo has something to it. Image source: disney.fandom.com.
So What's the Story?
While the title of the movie gives away part of it, the story of the movie is one that stand on its own. While walking to the cinema we realised that we had tickets to a Japanese movie in the Netherlands. While movies in the Netherlands are typically subtitled in Dutch this could have gotten quite messy, as my partner doesn't read Dutch.
Luckily for us the movie was screened with English subtitles. This was crucial as it would have been quite hard to follow without having subtitles. I literally told my partner directly after the movie: "imagine watching this without subs" followed quite soon after "how would you describe this movie to anyone that didn't watch it?". And that's the culprit in this post; describing the Boy and the Heron is quite simply impossible. Let's give it a go (no spoiler alert needed)...
The movie evolves around a young boy that had lost its mother in a fire. After moving to the countryside the boy gets caught in a whirlwind of adventure in which he finds peace with his past.
Ok, that wasn't too hard. But does it tell you much of what to expect? I guessed so. To get a full idea you simply must watch it yourself! But based on past productions by Studio Ghibli, you'll probably know it is good! As a teaser, here's the official trailer. But before watching, remember the use of music in these movies:
As with my attempt the trailer doesn't really give you much to work with in terms of the storyline. While searching for this trailer I got some search hits that further show that this movie is a one-of-a-kind production:
Screenshots taken simply from YouTube.
The Bottomline
If you were reading this post to get the ins and outs of this movie and some detailed description of the storyline itself, you're probably left unsatisfied. The bottomline here is, the Boy and the Herron is a one-of-a-kind movie that you simply need to watch. Draw your own conclusions first before reading up on someone else's detailed explanation of what the movie actually tries to convey. It's totally worth it, trust me on that!