# C06 Kimitachi wa Dō Ikiru ka by Hayao Miyazaki
Or «The Boy and the Heron» / How Do you live for the translation of the Japanese title. It's expected to be the last movie fo the great master of Japanese Animation, as usual....
«In 1943, during the Pacific War, 12-year-old Mahito Maki's mother Hisako is killed in a hospital fire in Tokyo. A year later, Mahito's father Shoichi, an air munitions factory owner, remarries his late wife's younger sister, Natsuko. They evacuate to her estate in the countryside where they live with several old maids. Mahito struggles in the new town as he continues to grapple with grief, is pestered by a mysterious grey heron at the estate and endures a tense relationship with Natsuko, who is now pregnant. Pursuing the heron, he discovers a ruined and sealed tower in the woods near the house and makes himself a bow and an arrow from the heron's feathers.»
Born in 1941, Miyazaki was deeply affected by the WWII. It's one of his recurring theme, as nature or planes. Here we have also the third main themes and the relationship with his father and his mother. His mother didn't died during the war but was sick and absent sometimes but also very influencing and closer from him than his father. This movie is not autobiographical for that, inspired by a novel of 1937. But Miyazaki did put lots of him in that adaptation. It's one of the more complex films he made, and I can't say that I have understood all that he wanted to say. It's clear for me that after this dark early life, Miyazaki talks about destiny, the desire of a radiant future. He's always hopeful…
But the hero comes back to the village where his mother had his childhood. She can't be his guide in the life anymore but her spirit is still there...The story of the film talks a lot about ancestor's spirit and about yōkai, kami. The famous Heron, for example is very sarcastic, and knows much about the parallel world where Mahito is going to reach Natsuko or his mother. It's difficult to know who he is, who he was. We don't know much about the «grandmothers» but they are funny servants in the manor. It reminds me some characters in «Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi» (Spirited Away). The movie contains also winks to «Kaze Tachinu» (The Wind rises) with parts of planes where Mahito's father is working. I hears that some characters were inspired by some companion or masters in the life of Miyazaki. It's not a real «initiatory journey», when the hero is growing up, trials after trials. Mahito is a spectator of his life and becomes an actor during this journey.
As usual, the drawing is sublime, for every set, every detail. The character design is great, from the cute warawaras to the more complex characters as the king, … The music of Joe Hisaishi is another great one, but not the best he did. The final song is not so good but interesting for the lyrics. Technicaly, it's another master piece of animation with a strong beginning during the bombing in Tokyo. The movie didn't make me cry like some ghiblis did. It's not the best of Miyazaki but it's a great piece of art. I don't know how children understand the movie. As usual, there is a double reading. With great supporting characters, it's a great film for a family, with many dreams to come after.
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