By David Baldwin
World War II has broken out and a young boy has moved with his family to the Japanese countryside. He encounters a heron, who is more persistent and radically different than other birds in terms of getting attention. After the heron leads the boy to an abandoned tower, it becomes clear that everything is not as it seems.
THE BOY AND THE HERON, Writer/Director Hayao Miyazaki’s first film in ten years, is a monumental achievement. Much like the beloved Studio Ghibli films that came before it, the film is a sumptuous visual feast that challenges your notions of what is possible within the medium. The staggering level of detail in each scene is magnificent, as are the effects used for water and fire. Suffice to say, it is a work of art that only a master like Miyazaki could make and we have been missing his influence for the last decade. If this is his last film (or second last film as we have been hearing in the past few days), then this culmination of such a rich career would be a good one to go out on.
My gripe, or at least what holds me back from loving THE BOY AND THE HERON rather than just liking it, is where the film goes in its back half. From the jump, it is a beautiful story about love, loss, grief and acceptance, and those themes imbue every frame with sadness and wonder. When the Film hits its Third Act, it throws all of that out and becomes something a bit more unwieldy (read: Miyazaki embracing the strange and metaphysical, alongside many, many parakeets). It feels choppy and unrefined – which is ironic because of how incredible the visuals are – and lost me more than once as it plays out. The breezy running time does not help get the film over the finish line any quicker either.
For Miyazaki fans, that sentiment will not mean as much as it does that the masterful filmmaker has delivered an unexpected, visually stunning gift for the ages. Each frame is a literal work of art and I doubt we will see another film as beautiful as this by the end of the year.
THE BOY AND THE HERON screens at TIFF ’23:
Thursday, September 7 at 6:00 PM at Princess of Wales Theatre
Thursday, September 7 @ 8:00 PM at Roy Thomson Hall
Saturday, September 9 @ 10:30 AM at Roy Thomson Hall
Sunday, September 10 at 12:05 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto
Friday, September 15 at 8:55 AM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto
Saturday, September 16 at 5:50 PM at TIFF Bell Lightbox
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