The Boy and the Heron is one of the maestro's saddest works.
Miyazaki's characters are constantly facing disasters.
Mahito cannot and does not even try to adapt to his new life.
Not long ago, Miyazaki's new film came out. Opinions about The Boy and the Heron are divided. Some consider it a masterpiece, one of the director's best movies, while others see nothing special and are even a bit disappointed. Only one thing everyone admits – The Boy and the Heron is one of the maestro's saddest works, if not the saddest. It is especially noteworthy how well the main character's childhood trauma is portrayed.
A little boy's great tragedy
The Boy and the Heron's main character is a child of the Second World War. Despite his young age, he has already felt the bitterness of loss. During another air raid, the hospital where Mahito's mother was staying was destroyed. He arrived too late, and the last thing he saw was a flaming building. The image of his burning mother stayed with the boy for a long time. In this film, Miyazaki is sadder than ever – he bluntly says that great traumas cannot be avoided, but one must be able to cope with them and move on. That's what Mahito (unwittingly) tries to do.
Shortly after the tragedy, the boy's father marries his mother's sister and takes Mahito to the countryside. He cannot and does not even try to adapt to his new life. Despite his stepmother's attempts to befriend him, the boy prefers to avoid her. He does not make new friends at school and generally spends more time alone. His already difficult situation is made worse by an annoying heron who tells him that his mother is alive and he can find her in another world.
Not forgetting trauma
The very unusual scene of self-mutilation, in which Mahito hits himself with a stone, is perhaps the best example of depicting a traumatized state. At that moment, we can feel the accumulated character's pain. This impression is reinforced by the vivid contrast between this expressive action and the calm boy's personality. Due to his condition, the boy is aloof and very reserved. Only when he finds a glimmer of hope to see his mother again, Mahito changes slightly.
Miyazaki's characters are constantly facing disasters. The Boy and the Heron is no exception, and the tragedy here is both general – there is a war, and personal – the hero loses his mother. Miyazaki does not try to show the horrors of war directly, but focuses on the child's experience of witnessing the terrible events and being traumatized.
Life is very traumatic, and Miyazaki feels it well.
The Boy and the Heron is one of the maestro's saddest works.
Miyazaki's characters are constantly facing disasters.
Mahito cannot and does not even try to adapt to his new life.
Not long ago, Miyazaki's new film came out. Opinions about The Boy and the Heron are divided. Some consider it a masterpiece, one of the director's best movies, while others see nothing special and are even a bit disappointed. Only one thing everyone admits – The Boy and the Heron is one of the maestro's saddest works, if not the saddest. It is especially noteworthy how well the main character's childhood trauma is portrayed.
A little boy's great tragedy
The Boy and the Heron's main character is a child of the Second World War. Despite his young age, he has already felt the bitterness of loss. During another air raid, the hospital where Mahito's mother was staying was destroyed. He arrived too late, and the last thing he saw was a flaming building. The image of his burning mother stayed with the boy for a long time. In this film, Miyazaki is sadder than ever – he bluntly says that great traumas cannot be avoided, but one must be able to cope with them and move on. That's what Mahito (unwittingly) tries to do.
Shortly after the tragedy, the boy's father marries his mother's sister and takes Mahito to the countryside. He cannot and does not even try to adapt to his new life. Despite his stepmother's attempts to befriend him, the boy prefers to avoid her. He does not make new friends at school and generally spends more time alone. His already difficult situation is made worse by an annoying heron who tells him that his mother is alive and he can find her in another world.
Not forgetting trauma
The very unusual scene of self-mutilation, in which Mahito hits himself with a stone, is perhaps the best example of depicting a traumatized state. At that moment, we can feel the accumulated character's pain. This impression is reinforced by the vivid contrast between this expressive action and the calm boy's personality. Due to his condition, the boy is aloof and very reserved. Only when he finds a glimmer of hope to see his mother again, Mahito changes slightly.
Miyazaki's characters are constantly facing disasters. The Boy and the Heron is no exception, and the tragedy here is both general – there is a war, and personal – the hero loses his mother. Miyazaki does not try to show the horrors of war directly, but focuses on the child's experience of witnessing the terrible events and being traumatized.
