The Boy and the Heron - #2

Dr. Redick showed us this movie, which was made by Studio Ghibli over the course of 3 classes. While I had seen a few Ghibli movies before, namely Porco Rosso and Howl's Moving Castle, I had never seen more famous movies like Spirited Away and had not heard of The Boy and the Heron. By all means, it was a relatively new movie, coming out in 2023 that I hadn't heard anything about. While watching the movie, I thought it was a little bit confusing, as all Ghibli movies are, until it clicked with me and I understood the implications of it, the purpose of the movie and the magic, and how it all connected. I thought the movie was super clever, especially with the grandma being younger and all that and the way it reflected dictators with the birds in the other world. Something that I also noticed and made note of during the movie, is when the grandma first rescues Mahito, there are lots of boats that are on the horizon which the grandma tells Mahito are ghost boats. This scene resembled so closely a scene I remembered from Porco Rosso where at the top of the sky, far above all the pilots was a jetstream of planes of dead pilots. I don't know how to explain this theme that runs between these two movies, and I hope to be able to watch more Ghibli movies in the future so that I can see if this is something that keeps appearing, or if it is just a coincidence between the two movies. 

Comments

  1. Charlotte AtkinsonMay 4, 2026 at 8:40 PM

    Ever since we watched this movie, it keeps popping up in my mind! I was also pretty confused by most parts, but like many Japanese movies, I think the art and the imagery require a second watch to fully, or at least better, grasp and understand. I also really liked the way that the grandmother was younger to show a glimpse of her true personality and character, reminding us that there is always more to someone than what meets the eye. I think it also serves as a reminder to use the past as a tool to understand the present, especially when it comes to other people.

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