2/4/24 - The Boy and the Heron (2023) - 7+/10

Not my favorite of his but there is only so low you can go on a Miyazaki. A tragedy spawned fever dream folk tale that is like Baron Munchausen meets Paprika by way of Hans Christian Anderson/Brothers Grimm. I will admit that I felt a bit adrift in the machinations and didn’t always grock what was being delivered but I had sublime fun and felt its core. So often Miyazaki wraps his pain and idiosyncratic narratives in an ineffable alchemy that digs in as it dazzles. There is an adult allure, perfectly willing to wade into the depths of human experience, while floating in a subversive enchanting vision of wild wonders that delight the child within & without.

This one felt consciously personal and more intrinsic to a self-exploration of ego & id, but maybe I’m reading too much into it. No matter my interpretation, the craft was spectacular and the experience enduring.