Joanah Eresechima - The Boy and the Heron

 When we watched the Boy and the Heron in class, I was in awe the entire time from the stunning visuals and animation. As expected from a Studio Ghibli film, everything in that category was top-notch. In terms of the storytelling, I’ve watched other Studio Ghibli films as well, and generally I found them to be okay but not breathtaking like everyone would say. This movie, however, was the exception. I tend to find themes of grief very interesting and insightful, so that may be why I find this movie so enjoyable. Right from the beginning, I found myself feeling sympathy for Mahito’s situation.

After doing a little more research into the background of the film, I learned that the title of the Japanese version was “How do you live?”. Apparently, the title was based on a Japanese book with the same name. I believe they changed the title for international audiences because we wouldn’t have recognized the reference the way Japanese audiences would. The title still makes sense since the heron plays a major part in the film, being the one who is the gateway for Mahito to enter the spirit world in the first place. However, I feel like the original title speaks more to the actual introspection our main character has to go through. Because of the inciting incident for the entire film is Mahito’s mother dying, and the internal journey Mahito goes through in the film is tied to that, this title makes it easier for the viewer to interpret the film. For me, the questions the movie is attempting to answer is how should Mahito live his life? Would it be better to remain stagnant and allow the grief he feels to consume him, or should he choose to reconcile with the loss of his mother and move on?

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