{"id":24275,"date":"2024-01-12T08:25:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-12T13:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/?p=24275"},"modified":"2024-03-19T20:15:38","modified_gmt":"2024-03-20T00:15:38","slug":"boy-and-heron","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/2024\/01\/12\/boy-and-heron\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The Boy And The Heron\u2019 Is Hayao Miyazaki\u2019s Dreamlike Exploration Of Grief"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A blaze at the hospital where his mother works awakens a young boy.\u00a0The boy, Mahito Maki, runs through the streets to the fire, but his mother perishes in the flames. It\u2019s the third year of Japan&#8217;s Pacific War\u2014World War II with the United States and its allies. The following year, the boy and his father evacuate Tokyo to move to the countryside, where his father runs a warplane factory and has a new pregnant bride, the sister of his dead wife, who may as well be her twin.<\/p>\n\n\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/t5khm-VjEu4?si=h5Ekjn-ntW5R5B3t\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n<p>So begins Studio Ghibli\u2019s \u201cThe Boy and the Heron\u201d (the original Japanese title translates as \u201cHow Do You Live?\u201d), written and directed by the genius Hayao Miyazaki. The film\u2014which follows upon Miyazaki\u2019s 2013 movie \u201cThe Wind Rises,\u201d about the designer of Japan\u2019s World War II Zero warplane\u2014is the story of Mahito coming to terms with his grief and accepting his stepmother as his mother. It\u2019s told as a wild dreamlike fantasy, like Miyazaki\u2019s 2001 film \u201cSpirited Away\u201d or a Buddhist Luis Bunuel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mahito and his father settle into a rambling country estate\u2014where Mahito sinks into the slow halting haunted strange interta of grief and depression. The place is haunted by a heron, with upsetting teeth, who tells Mahito to save his mother, who tells the boy he can bring him to his mother. The bird takes him to an abandoned tower, overgrown by vines, where a great uncle had gone mad and disappeared. They find a warren of tunnels underneath it, but are forbidden by grownups to go back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nonetheless Mahito goes back, hoping to find his mother. Inside the tower are grand rooms, and seas and other worlds\u2014a landscape of anxiety dreams\u2014that transports him in place and time. He meets fetal spirits, giant parakeets, and dream-logic versions of his mother, his stepmother, his unborn half-brother, his great uncle\u2014and struggles to rescue them all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Miyazaki was born in Tokyo in 1941, he\u2019ll be 83 in January. His father helped run his brother\u2019s company which manufactured rudders for fighter planes during the war. And also like the boy in the movie, the family fled bombings by evacuating to the countryside. \u201cThe Boy and the Heron&#8221; can make you suspect that Miyazaki is wrestling with his childhood memories of the war, wrestling with his own memories as well as wrestling with the national memory. It can feel as if he\u2019s pondering who he is now and the accumulating losses of age. And that the dizzyingly strange poetic visions here are a way of perhaps trying to make peace with it all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><em>If this is the kind of coverage of arts, cultures and activisms you appreciate, please support Wonderland by&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/wonderlandlandfanclub\" target=\"_blank\">contributing to Wonderland on Patreon<\/a>. And&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/subscribe\/\" target=\"_blank\">sign up for our free, occasional newsletter<\/a>&nbsp;so that you don&#8217;t miss any of our reporting. (All content \u00a9Greg Cook 2024 or the respective creato<\/em>rs.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1170\" height=\"1711\" src=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/HERON_Poster_NoBillingBlockWeb_2023-10-13w.jpg\" alt=\"\u201cThe Boy and the Heron.\u201d (Studio Ghibli)\" class=\"wp-image-24336\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/HERON_Poster_NoBillingBlockWeb_2023-10-13w.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/HERON_Poster_NoBillingBlockWeb_2023-10-13w-800x1170.jpg 800w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/HERON_Poster_NoBillingBlockWeb_2023-10-13w-768x1123.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/HERON_Poster_NoBillingBlockWeb_2023-10-13w-1050x1536.jpg 1050w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/HERON_Poster_NoBillingBlockWeb_2023-10-13w-370x541.jpg 370w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1170px) 100vw, 1170px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\u201cThe Boy and the Heron.\u201d (Studio Ghibli)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1170\" height=\"633\" src=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/HERON_img_2w.jpg\" alt=\"\u201cThe Boy and the Heron.\u201d (Studio Ghibli)\" class=\"wp-image-24331\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/HERON_img_2w.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/HERON_img_2w-768x416.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/HERON_img_2w-370x200.jpg 370w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1170px) 100vw, 1170px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\u201cThe Boy and the Heron.\u201d (Studio Ghibli)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1170\" height=\"633\" src=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/HERON_img_5w.jpg\" alt=\"\u201cThe Boy and the Heron.\u201d (Studio Ghibli)\" class=\"wp-image-24334\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/HERON_img_5w.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/HERON_img_5w-768x416.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/HERON_img_5w-370x200.jpg 370w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1170px) 100vw, 1170px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\u201cThe Boy and the Heron.\u201d (Studio Ghibli)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1170\" height=\"633\" src=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/HERON_img_3w.jpg\" alt=\"\u201cThe Boy and the Heron.\u201d (Studio Ghibli)\" class=\"wp-image-24332\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/HERON_img_3w.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/HERON_img_3w-768x416.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/HERON_img_3w-370x200.jpg 370w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1170px) 100vw, 1170px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\u201cThe Boy and the Heron.\u201d (Studio Ghibli)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1170\" height=\"633\" src=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/HERON_img_4w.jpg\" alt=\"\u201cThe Boy and the Heron.\u201d (Studio Ghibli)\" class=\"wp-image-24333\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/HERON_img_4w.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/HERON_img_4w-768x416.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/HERON_img_4w-370x200.jpg 370w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1170px) 100vw, 1170px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\u201cThe Boy and the Heron.\u201d (Studio Ghibli)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1170\" height=\"633\" src=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/HERON_img_6w.jpg\" alt=\"\u201cThe Boy and the Heron.\u201d (Studio Ghibli)\" class=\"wp-image-24335\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/HERON_img_6w.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/HERON_img_6w-768x416.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/HERON_img_6w-370x200.jpg 370w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1170px) 100vw, 1170px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\u201cThe Boy and the Heron.\u201d (Studio Ghibli)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1170\" height=\"633\" src=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/HERON_img_1w.jpg\" alt=\"\u201cThe Boy and the Heron.\u201d (Studio Ghibli)\" class=\"wp-image-24337\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/HERON_img_1w.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/HERON_img_1w-768x416.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/HERON_img_1w-370x200.jpg 370w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1170px) 100vw, 1170px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\u201cThe Boy and the Heron.\u201d (Studio Ghibli)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A blaze at the hospital where his mother works awakens a young boy.\u00a0The boy, Mahito Maki, runs through the streets to the fire, but his mother perishes in the flames. It\u2019s the third year of Japan&#8217;s Pacific War\u2014World War II with the United States and its allies. The following year, the boy and his father [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24330,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[129,116],"tags":[1219,1220],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24275"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24275"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24275\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24544,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24275\/revisions\/24544"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}