The Boy and The Heron

In my Japanese mom’s community, we were discussing the new Studio Ghibli film called ‘The Boy and The Heron.’ I was informed that it was playing in our area, Birmingham, and I was so excited! I quickly booked tickets and went to the cinema that afternoon with my children. Since I booked the subtitled version, only reclining chairs were available. As expected, very few were in the audience, which was nice, but I also worried that one of my kids or I might fall asleep in such a comfy chair; what a relaxing afternoon!

However, I don’t want to give away too much. I just pondered why the English and Japanese titles are so different. The Japanese title is ‘君はどう生きるか,’ which translates to ‘How do you live?’ This Japanese title meant a lot to me because I have always questioned myself; if you want to find out why, read the ABOUT page.

I completely understand how the main character, Mahito, felt in the situation he was in; losing a close family member. At one point, he wasn’t in a good mental state, but he never gave up, became resilient and grew into a person with a pure yet strong sense of righteousness.
I am very pleased to have had the opportunity to watch this film; it made me contemplate not only what is happening in this world but also the realisation that we can choose how to live, and this choice depends on ourselves.