Film · 2023
The Boy and the Heron
君たちはどう生きるか
After his mother dies during the war, Mahito moves to the countryside and is drawn towards an old tower and a troublesome grey heron. When his stepmother disappears, he follows the bird into a world shared by the living and the dead. The search confronts him with unfamiliar rules and his own longing.
The move has already changed Mahito’s family before the fantastic journey begins. The heron is an unsettling guide rather than a reassuring companion, and the tower stands close to his new home. The strange world grows out of a household he is still learning to inhabit.
Mahito’s new household has an unruly life of its own. The elderly maids crowd around tins and food, leaning in with eager faces rather than forming a solemn reception for the grieving boy. Their material interests, stores and crowding give the country house a character before he enters the tower, placing the strange adventure beside a busy domestic world.
Standalone film · Approx. 124 min · one film
Original 2023 animated feature, approximately 124 minutes per Studio Ghibli; excludes supplements.