(PG) 124 minutes<\/strong><\/p>\n Chalk up another win for the octogenarians. Following 81-year-old Martin Scorsese\u2019s withering epic Killers of the Flower Moon<\/i>, comes 82-year-old Hayao Miyazaki\u2019s gilded animated reverie The Boy and the Heron<\/i>. As artistic visions, the two films have few similarities, but they\u2019re equally the works of master filmmakers who are deep in conversation with their beliefs about image-making and storytelling\u2019s purpose. Age definitely shall not weary them.<\/p>\n Mahito Maki (voiced by Luca Padovan) and the Grey Heron (Robert Pattinson), who entices him bidding him to enter an abandoned tower.<\/span><\/p>\n With a look that says stern grandfather and a reputation for admonishing subordinates and adult acolytes, Miyazaki is an icon in Japan. An animator since 1963, he made his directorial debut in 1979 with The Castle of Cagliostro<\/i>, and through the studio he co-founded, Studio Ghibli, has enjoyed considerable commercial success and critical acclaim. Miyazaki actually retired in 2013, only to begin work on The Boy and the Heron<\/i> in 2016.<\/p>\n His profile internationally has built from cult favourite to commercial acclaim. Few filmmakers benefited more from the DVD era than Miyazaki, as the likes of 1988\u2019s My Neighbour Totoro<\/i>, 1997\u2019s Princess Mononoke<\/i>, and 2004\u2019s Howl\u2019s Moving Castle<\/i> entranced children (and some parents) while spreading via word of mouth. Screen time was often Miyazaki time, making his comeback feature an event. In other words, both my teenage children eagerly attended the opening day of The Boy and the Heron<\/i> with their friends.<\/p>\n The Boy and the Heron features Hayao Miyazaki classics, such as a gaggle of gnomic grandmothers. <\/span><\/p>\n What they saw \u2013 and responded to \u2013 was an artist looking back on his life\u2019s work. The Boy and the Heron<\/i> has many elements familiar to Miyazaki, whether it\u2019s an adolescent protagonist or a gaggle of gnomic grandmothers offering care and wisdom, but as much as it\u2019s a coming-of-age tale it\u2019s also about the end of things. With its dream logic and wistful pauses, the film is acutely aware that any beginning also requires an end.<\/p>\n Most cinemas are screening a re-voiced English language version, but a minority are showing the original Japanese language release with subtitles; I reviewed the former. Either way, Miyazaki instantly makes his mark.<\/p>\n It is 1943, Tokyo is being bombed as part of World War II, and 12-year-old Mahito (Luca Padovan) is too late running towards his mother\u2019s burning hospital. The sound drops and the image distorts, the chaos is otherworldly, the loss intimate.<\/p>\n Afterwards, a grieving Mahito is evacuated to the countryside with his father, Shoichi (Christian Bale), who has remarried his late wife\u2019s younger sister, Natsuko (Gemma Chan). With its autobiographical grace notes, the first half of the film is unhurried. Reserved instead of angry, Mahito is tormented and enticed by the Grey Heron (Robert Pattinson, absolutely having at it), a bird bidding him to enter an abandoned tower deep in foreboding lore, so he can rescue his mother.<\/p>\n The borders between realms are always porous in Miyazaki\u2019s pocket universes, and Mahito finds himself in a fantastical parallel dimension. This wonderland, rendered in gorgeous hand-drawn frames, reveals alternate versions of family members, and magical tasks \u2013 at one point Mahito and a dedicated boat woman, Kiriko (Florence Pugh), feed the circle of life with bountiful fish guts. But despite the entreaties of adults and avian adversaries, the plot skews to the contemplative. What will matter the most, the movie asks, in your life?<\/p>\n With painterly establishing shots, otherworldly eruptions, transformative creatures and luscious condiments, The Boy and the Heron<\/i> exists several worlds away from Hollywood animation\u2019s digital frontier. It\u2019s filled with inspiration, but it\u2019s never dogmatic. Miyazaki is reportedly at work on his next film \u2013 insert your preferred \u201cgo off, king\u201d style exhortation here \u2013 but if this was to be his last feature it would be a fitting finale. Don\u2019t live in my world, Miyazaki\u2019s saying, forge your own.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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