“The Boy and the Heron” tells the story of 12-year-old Mahito Maki, who has moved to the rural estate of his father’s pregnant wife, Natsuko, following the death of Mahito’s mother (Natsuko’s sister) in the wake of World War II.
Upon arrival, Mahito meets the colorful maids of Natsuko’s estate, who warn Mahito against visiting the estate’s abandoned tower for its notorious past of disappearances. Mahito notices a solitary heron who takes a strange, essentially taunting interest in him.
As the confrontations between Mahito and this heron begin to escalate and border on the disturbing, Mahito realizes that the heron is not an ordinary animal but rather a strange bird-like man, who has lured him into the abandoned tower by abducting Natsuko.
Here is where the story truly takes off. Mahito is flung into a world of giant parrots, cute marshmallow creatures (warawara), different timelines, and striking landscapes of oceans and hills where reality can quite literally bend and collapse.
Admittedly, I am relatively new to the world of Studio Ghibli, having only watched about five other Ghibli films. Still, this movie felt pleasantly different from other Hayao Miyazaki works in its use of reality, where timelines can happen all at once and aren’t bound by the laws of nature we have only seen defied in other films.
Looking back, what I most loved about “The Boy and the Heron” is its liminality — the world that Mahito explores feels timeless, and certain corridors, tunnels, or spaces feel nostalgically empty.
I was reluctant to give in to Miyazaki because the plot felt like a stream-of-consciousness and certain aspects of the magical realism are left unexplained. It felt as if Miyazaki created this magical story in one sitting, incorporating everything and anything that occurred to him into Mahito’s story, but that is not an offense. This movie is atypical, but I think that’s the point— it still works really well.
“The Boy and the Heron” is an admittedly strange creation, but it is a unique, two-hour visual and narrative experience. Just run with it, is my advice — some things are better left unexplained.
