gabi sohn

It surprises me to say that I did not like this movie, to my absolute shock and disappointment. As someone who has grown up watching Studio Ghibli movies, every one I have watched has delighted me to such an extent that I find myself wanting to watch them over and over again. The Boy and the Heron perplexed me to no end. This movie wasn't all bad, though there were positives: it is still a Miyazaki film, so the visuals were amazing, the movie was beautiful to look at, and I was so happy that I was able to watch a Ghibli film for the first time ever in theatres, which made the movie all the more beautiful for obvious reasons. The score was also gorgeous. Joe Hisaishi, as always, masterfully interprets the emotions and beauty of the film and creates a score that not only invokes feeling but also transports you into the world Miyazaki has created. Generally,  the sound design was phenomenal and created such a vivid and real sensation. I watched it dubbed because I was very excited for the cast, and for the most part, they did not disappoint Florence Pugh you could tell, was having a blast, as was Christian Bale, who will forever make an impression as Howl, and I was glad to hear again. Although he had very little screen time, Willem Dafoe definitely made an impression. The obvious standout was Robert Pattinson as the heron whose voice was unrecognizable, and I found myself questioning if I was watching the correct English dub at times because I genuinely could not tell that it was him speaking. The start of the film was promising, and I found myself very excited to see how it would play out, especially to see how a child's grief would be portrayed.  Unfortunately, in my opinion, that is where the good aspects end. The movie suffers from a lack of direction and from trying to do too many things. This story should have been about a little boy learning how to cope with grief and the lessons he learns from a fantastical journey and the characters he has conjured up. I wouldn't have been mad if the magical world was in fact real and not just a dream Mahito conjured, but at the end of the day, the story should have been an exploration into the impacts of grief on a child. The original plot of trying to find Mahito's mother is essentially forgotten, and the movie suffers greatly because of this. The ending wasn't horrible, but the middle ruins the whole thing.  Disappointing and excessive to the point of being incomprehensible, this is my least favorite Ghibli film that I have seen so far.