THEon the occasion of85th birthday of legendary animation director Hayao Miyazakithis evening at 9.30 pm Rai 3 broadcasts The boy and the heronlatest masterpiece of the Japanese master. Awarded an Oscar in 2023the film tells the friendship between a traumatized boy since the death of his mother and a gray heron who makes him discover a fantastic and hidden world.
The boy and the heron: Hayao Miyazaki’s film tonight 5 January on TV on Rai 3, the plot
Japan 1940sduring the Second World War. Mahito is a twelve year old boy who loses his motherHisako, in a fire caused by bombing. Shortly after moves to the countryside with his father Shoichi, aircraft designer, who about a year later marries Natsuko, Hisako’s younger sister. Mahito struggles to accept this new family balance and lives closed in on himself, overwhelmed by loneliness and the pain of loss.
One day a talking gray heron begins to follow himmocking him and luring him towards a mysterious tower. Within, the heron shows him what appears to be his sleeping motherbut the image dissolves as soon as Mahito touches it, revealing itself to be a simple illusion. Blinded by rage, the boy hits the animal in the beak with an arrow, bringing out a small and grotesque spirit-man that lives inside it.
Having entered the tower, Mahito convinces the spirit-man to guide him into the magical world hidden: a place suspended between dream and reality. There the boy meets bizarre creatures and timeless landscapes. He also discovers that that kingdom was created by an ancient relative looking for an heir and finds himself ad face trials that test his courage and its growth path.
A scene from the film “The Boy and the Heron”. (Lucky Red)
A masterpiece of animation, between reflection and magic
Considered one of Hayao Miyazaki’s most ambitious works, The boy and the heron it’s the umpteenth one confirmation of the mastery of the Japanese director in blending layered animation with deeply imaginative storytelling. Packed with breathtaking visuals and meticulously edited, the film explores important themes such as grief, loss of identity and acceptance through a fantastic and never rhetorical lens.
Although the story is complex and very symbolic, The boy and the heron it does not lose its charm and takes up the director’s familiar themes with a new maturity. The film in fact is capable of balancing a child’s growth path with reflections on lifeon creation and the human condition. An evocative work, in short, capable of fascinating also thanks to thethe quality of the animationwith detailed backdrops and colors that change depending on the emotion of the scene or character. A complex and mature masterpiece, which weaves together the director’s past, present and, hopefully, future.
The story of The boy and the heronthe music and the explanation of the title of the original version
In 2013, after the film The wind picks upHayao Miyazaki announced his retirement for reasons of age. Three years later, however, he decided to dedicate himself to a new project, inspired by his childhood and some novelsincluding And how will you live? by Genzaburō Yoshino, from whom took the film’s original title and philosophical themes.
The title recalls the line of a poem by Paul Valéry «you have to try to live» and Miyazaki, interviewed by New York Timesstated that the film is dedicated to his nephew but also to the artists of future generations. Again in the same interview, the director said he didn’t have the answer to the title question but that every spectator can find it within themselves.
As for instead the film’s soundtrack, composed by Joe Hisaishi in his eleventh collaboration with Miyazaki, is characterized by a minimal musical style (with some pieces focusing exclusively on a single instrument) and for a more melancholy and dark atmosphere.