The Boy and the Heron

Kimitachi wa Dō Ikiru

6+

Genre

Drama, Adventure, Animation

Director

Hayao Miyazaki

Run time

2h 4min

Cast

Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda

Tokyo, near the end of World War II in the Pacific. 11-year-old Mahito loses his mother in a fire, and takes refuge with his father in his mother’s hometown. They move into an old mansion on a large estate, which also includes a secluded tower that has become a nesting spot for a gray heron. Mahito struggles with complex feelings toward his father, who runs a factory supplying the war effort, and his new stepmother Natsuko, who happens to be his mother’s younger sister. To make matters worse, he becomes alienated at school. Mahito was told that the tower was built by his mother’s granduncle, who eventually disappeared inside it, never to be seen again. One day, Natsuko suddenly goes missing, so Mahito ventures into the tower to look for her. Led by the gray heron, he unwittingly ends up embarking on an odyssey into another world. Mahito finds himself in a bizarre realm where the living and the dead exist side by side. As he encounters its astonishing inhabitants, he comes to learn of the secrets of the world.

Genre

Drama, Adventure, Animation

Director

Hayao Miyazaki

Run time

2h 4min

Cast

Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda

Tokyo, near the end of World War II in the Pacific. 11-year-old Mahito loses his mother in a fire, and takes refuge with his father in his mother’s hometown. They move into an old mansion on a large estate, which also includes a secluded tower that has become a nesting spot for a gray heron. Mahito struggles with complex feelings toward his father, who runs a factory supplying the war effort, and his new stepmother Natsuko, who happens to be his mother’s younger sister. To make matters worse, he becomes alienated at school. Mahito was told that the tower was built by his mother’s granduncle, who eventually disappeared inside it, never to be seen again. One day, Natsuko suddenly goes missing, so Mahito ventures into the tower to look for her. Led by the gray heron, he unwittingly ends up embarking on an odyssey into another world. Mahito finds himself in a bizarre realm where the living and the dead exist side by side. As he encounters its astonishing inhabitants, he comes to learn of the secrets of the world.

Info

Rating

6+

Production year

2023

Global distributor

TOHO animation

Local distributor

Artgene

In Cinemas

12/22/2023