The Boy and the Heron illustrates creativity in cinema
The Boy and the Heron delivers one of the most creative and original stories of the past year. In Hayao Miyazaki’s latest film, a boy and his father move from Tokyo to his aunt’s home in the countryside, where he encounters an unusual heron and embarks on a mission. The film differs from other seemingly similar works by Miyazaki in that it seems to be a reflection of his concerns about careless or ill-intentioned storytelling.
The metaphorical nature of the story and plot elements creates an unpredictable yet natural feeling of progression from scene to scene. As the events become more fantastic, the mise en scene reflects the themes of the story through mythical elements and supernaturally influenced situations.
Miyazaki is a master of communicating the essence of physical spaces. In The Boy and the Heron he accomplishes this by including small moments of everyday life and illustrations of how the characters live day-to-day, in both familiar and unfamiliar worlds. This simple relatability elevates the impact of the supernatural in the story as it enables the audience to appreciate that this is unusual even to the characters.
The original soundtrack, composed by Joe Hisaishi, includes some of the best pieces of any recent films. In time it may prove it to be as iconic as Hisaishi’s scores for Howl’s Moving Castle or Spirited Away. Some pieces evoke the essence of the film as effectively as “One Summer’s Day” did for Spirited Away. In being ominous, endearing and unpredictable, the original sound track accomplishes what composers strive for- music that reflects and adds to the story and qualities of the film.
At times the placement or pacing of the score with the film did not entirely fit and felt a bit blunt or out of the blue, but that brief moment of awkwardness occurs once-maybe twice-in the entire two hour and four minute runtime and is immediately atoned for by the excellence of the composition and the film it accompanies.
The English dub of the film was excellent and has an all A-List cast who fit their roles so well I forgot who they were. No voice was out of place and all performed with the depth necessary for the film. Robert Pattinson displays his range with a character that I did not realize was him until the end, and Dave Bautista gives his all for his character’s voice.
The symbolic qualities of the story lend it to interpretation and enable the audience to participate in the story by looking for the meaning of various elements. Overall, the film is bursting with life and imagination, and is worth seeing for that reason alone.
