The weakest Ghibli film I watched. granted I didn't watch every one but a lot of them. My main problem is the last third of the film. Nearly every arc they started is not paying off at the end because this stupid bird just destroys everything. Nothing is explained, like in a lot of Ghibli films, however most of the other films imply meaning in a lot of ways and explain the world in subtle ways which this one just misses so hard...
Yeah, I agree with this. Also each of his films has a clear motif, but this one is super vague. It’s about acceptance of death maybe? Or growing up? Letting go of… stuff?
I loved all of the Miyazaki films except The Wind Rises, which I found to be awful and boring. So I’m kind of afraid to watch this one. Is it more like his earlier work or more like the wind rises?
Hmmm it’s hard to say because its theme is definitely similar to The Wind Rises in that it’s semi autobiographical about his childhood during WWII. However it has more of Myazaki’s trademark mystical elements than TWR.
For me I genuinely loved it and thought it poetically blended aspects of his real childhood and how time distorts memory. It’s kind of a culmination of his old work and his more “realism” movies like TWR. In the end, it stands as a unique work of art as anyone would expect from a Miyazaki film. Highly recommend it.
As a note, Mark Hamill and Robert Pattinson were particularly exceptional performances in the Eng version.
It feels like Ghibli just won it for the sake of it being Ghibli. I won’t say I disliked the film. The visuals were great and the voice acting was very well done as usual. But yeah, plot left a lot to be desired. It felt like we were missing half a movie in the middle
It’s tough to give a reason other than “vibes,” but it made me feel a broad range of emotions throughout the film, had beautiful scenery/animation, and had fun and quirky characters. Plus, this one felt much more “adult” than most Ghibli movies, which surprised me in a good way.
People are saying the plot is jank, but I’ve never gone into a Ghibli movie for the plot. It’s more of an emotional experience to me.
I greatly enjoyed the movie, especially how real it felt as a goodbye from Miyazaki. But I do think it was a bit disjointed, and the first half of the plot wasn’t as well done.
Of all Ghibli movies, imo this one is most similar to Spirited Away. Hard to say for certain if you’ll like it, but I definitely think it’s worth a watch.
I feel like such a fake fan. This is obviously one of his most personal and sincere artistic offerings as a film maker… but I was just bored the entire way through. It was beautiful and whimsical, but the story left me so cold and unsatisfied. Nothing resolved, nothing really mattered, nothing felt like subtext. And I know I’m wrong, it MUST be something I missed.
I guess I’m just basic, but hit me with that Porco Rosso or Wind Rises or Laputa vibes. But thats art, there’s no accounting for taste. I’m going to watch Heron again and see if it takes a second viewing for it to hit home.
Regardless how I feel about it, I was so happy to finally catch a Miyazaki film in theatres with my kids. That was great.
As for nothing being resolved, I feel like the main character did work through his grief and trauma surrounding the death of his mother, which imo was the central conflict.
That said: You don’t have any obligation to like anything. If it didn’t hit for you, that’s 100% okay. You aren’t “fake” or “wrong” if it didn’t vibe with you.
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