The latest Hayao Miyazaki has soared and landed over on Max and I couldn’t be happier. When the dubbed version became known to me, I was immediately drawn in. Watching movies in their original language is an art form on its own not to be ignored, especially Studio Ghibli movies. But the dubbed versions have special places in my heart and this one is no different. Touting the likes of Christian Bale, Gemma Chan, Mark Hamill, Dave Bautista, Florence Pugh, and Robert Pattinson, this film knocks it out of the park and then some. But let’s stop flapping our wings and dig into this feature.
The film opens with the young protagonist Mahito (Luca Padovan) waking to see smoke in the distance. His mother’s hospital is on fire. The boy rushes to save her, but is, of course, too late. Mahito then tells us that his mother died in the third year of the war and that the following year, they left Tokyo. Grief takes center stage as Mahito adjusts to the changes. His father Shoichi (Christian Bale) has already met someone else and the two of them are making their way to the family estate to be away from the city while the war continues. Shoichi is assisting the war effort by running a factory producing airplane parts. Much to Mahito’s surprise, he finds his new stepmother Natsuko (Gemma Chan) is already pregnant. Something felt off to me from their first meeting, but it wouldn’t click for me until later in the film.
When Mahito arrives at the estate, a large grey heron (Robert Pattinson) is watching him, even coming down for a quick look. It’s daunting, looming. This overbearing presence is there to remind Mahito of his losses. Or are they… Mahito doesn’t adjust to his new school well and needs some time to rest to mend his wounds. But the heron won’t let him rest. Mahito’s determined to take things into his own hands, unsurprising to the grannies of the estate. They knew his mother too. They talk about that weird tower that arrived and how Granduncle (Mark Hamill) became obsessed with it until he eventually disappeared. They even say how Mahito’s mother disappeared for a year only to come back smiling. Mahito’s not sure what to make of it, but he knows he’s going after that damn heron.
If this is any indication of how much RPattz can act, then by all means, give that man whatever role he wants! I was amazed. A lot of actors, even in this film, you can pick them out by their sound. You know what Dave Bautista sounds like, it’s pretty easy to peg him as the Parakeet King. But if I hadn’t known ahead of time that Robert was the heron, I would have had no idea. He plays the role brilliantly. The heron taunts Mahito, calling him to the tower. And in a few short moments, everything and nothing has changed.
Much like other Miyasaki films, the fantastical and reality blend together. Magic often comes through and I knew this film would be no different. This tower, this strange tower that according to the grannies, has been coveted by the family for years. But it also in a way drives them mad. Granduncle completely disappeared. When Mahito finally enters the tower, he has no idea what could be ahead of him or granny Kiriko (Florence Pugh) who tags along, though they will get separated. The heron tells him it’s his mother. But Mahito is a bit smarter than that. He knows things aren’t as they seem, but he doesn’t see the full picture just yet. But speaking of pictures is there nothing more picturesque than a Studio Ghibli movie?! I relish seeing the background art and dreaming of being in it.
Back in reality, Mahito sees that his stepmother has gone missing and is somewhere in this dimensional tower. Between the living and the dead and all sorts of nonsense in between, this poor boy has to hunt down his new mother and bring her back while being led by the Heron/Not really Heron on the road. Grief is a journey, and he’s not alone in that. He meets a woman trapped in the in-between, helping feed and ferry souls along. He also meets Lady Himi (Karen Fukuhara) who can set herself on fire. A helpful skill to be sure, but something about her feels so familiar…
We watch Mahito go through all the stages of grief so beautifully. Miyasaki’s tribute to love and loss is so breathtakingly done. Mahito starts the film angry and closed off. We watch him lose his mother. It makes sense he’s angry with the changes. He doesn’t want a new mother, he didn’t ask for a new mother. He couldn’t save the one he had. Now he has to save the one he didn’t want. We watch him learn to accept her. What tickled my brain from the beginning was that perhaps Natsuko was more than just his new stepmother… she was his aunt. My brain remembered something about people remarrying into families and it turned out to be right. Natsuko is his aunt and that would make Lady Himi his mother. So while he does ultimately lose her, he gets a little more time with her and she goes back to her time smiling…
There’s so much more to dive into and little nuances of family and obligation and power, but I’ll let you all delve further into that yourselves. As someone who lost a parent last year, grief is never more present in my mind especially as I plan my wedding. You will feel pain you can’t imagine and yet life never stops. You keep going. Sometimes, you’re angry. Sometimes, you can accept it. But that love will never truly cease as long as you still breathe. Mahito lost his birth mother, but he gained another mother. And while my dad won’t be around to dance at my wedding next year, I know he’ll be partying with the ancestors in his own way. You can’t outrun grief. You can only survive it. And Miyasaki has shown us that with this breathtaking film.
