A scene from ‘The Boy and the Heron’

In 2013, fans of Hayao Miyazaki actually thought they had seen the last story of Japanese filmmaking with the semi-autobiographical the wind rises, which was a gentle, personal and emotional goodbye. it was perfect.

But a decade later, it’s almost as if the 83-year-old Miyazaki has been brought out of retirement to show everyone this, despite all the advances in modern animation and the rise of many new heirs to his legacy (many of them). From the hallowed halls of Studio Ghibli), the magic of his distinctive visual style and prose is unmatched.

with boy and heronMiyazaki once again taps into one of his favorite recurring themes: that of a child struggling with grief against the backdrop of war, who becomes trapped in a mysterious fantasy world. diving headlong into drama Alice in Wonderland-In style, the director really makes every effort to immerse us in his vision, though it can be self-indulgent at times.

We begin by meeting young Mahito Maki (voiced by Soma Santoki) during wartime Japan in the early 1940s. Her mother dies in a hospital fire after the bombing of Tokyo, and her father – the head of a factory making fighter planes – marries Natsuko (Yoshino Kimura), his late wife’s younger sister. Mahito, who is still haunted by the loss of his mother in recurring nightmares, has to move from Tokyo to a rustic estate run by old grandmothers run by Natsuko and her staff, where she must deal with her inner demons. Left alone to fight.

This is where the first touches of Miyazaki’s autobiography begin; The animator’s own father worked in a fighter aircraft factory, his family left Tokyo for the countryside when he was very young, and some of his earliest memories as a child include fear of burning hellfire and war. .

As Mahito’s inner turmoil and guilt over being unable to save his mother continue to confuse his subconscious, he encounters a giant talking heron (voiced by Masaki Suda) who appears to him on the grounds of the estate in a Keeps trying to lure the Forbidden into the abandoned tower. The heron first tells him that his mother is not dead; Then to make matters worse, his stepmother/aunt Natsuko (who is now pregnant) disappears, and chasing this anthropomorphic bird through the tower into a parallel universe appears to be the key to finding her.

A scene from ‘The Boy and the Heron’

Next, the hero is pulled into a magical timeline that involves everything from fire maidens and man-eating parrots to unborn human spirits called Varvara (as with Ghibli’s most enchanting creations) and ancient sorcerers. Miyazaki fans will be pleased to be introduced to several such personalities, as Mahito encounters one surreal situation after another, yet is unable to distinguish between his dreams and real life; Neither are we.

Aided by a stellar voice cast (the English language version includes Luca Padovan, Robert Pattinson as Christian Bale, Gemma Chan, and many others) and a gorgeous orchestral score from longtime collaborator Joe Hisaishi, Miyazaki finally unleashes the full force of his imagination in this. Unlimited world, but the narrative excites and excites in equal measure. You don’t have time to appreciate the ingenuity behind a character and their environment before they’re transported into a different realm or plot point; It may be grand, but there’s surprising clarity behind his past travels my neighbor totoro Or spirited Away Is wrong.

But is this what Miyazaki wanted us to feel? Original title of the film How do you live? It’s adapted from a 1937 Japanese novel by Genzaburo Yoshino (a favorite of the filmmaker), and at several points, it feels like he’s posing that very question to the audience.

then how to do Do you live? How do you make your peace with the past and cope with the grief that no one else can understand? boy and heron There are no easy or clear answers, and after the film ends Miyazaki leaves us wondering (perhaps he does too), as Mahito finds a new meaning in love, family, and loss, in more ways than one.

Maybe we will too.

The Boy and the Heron is currently playing in theaters