First Reactions Arrive for Hayao Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli Film HOW DO YOU LIVE? and Story Details Revealed
Like many of you, I’ve been very curious about Hayao Miyazaki’s final Studio Ghibli film How Do You Live? Until now, no details have been revealed in regard to the story the film tells, and there’s no marketing for the film, so we won’t see any trailers released for it. The closest thing we’ll get to marketing is these first reactions to the film that have arrived online.
The film was made for Miyazaki's grandson as a way of saying, "Grandpa is moving onto the next world soon, but he is leaving this film behind." The core of this story is a young boy experiencing the death of a loved one and coming to terms with it. Not simply, “How do you live?” but rather, “How do you live on when someone you love is gone forever?”
If you want to know the story details, I’ve included them below the social media reactions. If you don’t want to know any details about the story then don’t read beyond Twitter embeds.
It sounds like a very beautiful story that is very much in the spirit of the kinds of films Studio Ghibli makes. So, what are people saying about the movie?
Anime News Network says: “It's truly astounding. Every frame of this film feels like a separate work of art—one that only becomes grander when put together as part of the greater whole. It's a film you could watch a hundred times and still discover new things in the background of any given scene.” They added: “It's an animation tour de force unlike anything seen in the past decade.”
They say: “All in all, How do You Live? succeeds at what it's trying to be—a roadmap for dealing with the loss of a loved one couched within a fantastical tale. It's designed to tell those suffering from such feelings that they are not alone while also showing them how to find importance in the greatly-changed world they find themselves in. While it can be predictable at times, it is every bit the visual masterpiece expected of Miyazaki's films and will no doubt become a classic in the decades to come. In the end, while it may not be the absolute pinnacle of Miyazaki's films, it's still a great one—and certainly not a bad one for Miyazaki to go out on.”
BBC had this to say about the film: “The film is full of Miyazaki's signature obsessions, quirks and thematic concerns. There are the usual visual treats, like cute yet eerie creatures, great-looking food and gravity-defying flights of fancy – primarily hand-drawn and moving with the fluidity and sense of weight that mark the master animator's work."
They added: “How Do You Live? has not had the same level of release-day buzz as might be expected for a new release from a director of Miyazaki's fame. There have been no trailers or TV spots, and the lone hint as to what the film might be about has come via a single enigmatic poster.”
Matteo Watzky says: “His presence on How Do You Live? plays no little part in the quality and novelty of the film. Miyazaki’s rich and round designs and movement remain as beautiful as they have always been, but are balanced by thinner, more elegant lines and features and more liberated expression than the highly-controlling Miyazaki has been used to – particularly visible in Ohira’s uncorrected, harrowing opening sequence or the film’s impressive climax. This may be the most original take on Miyazaki’s style since Katsuya Kondô’s wonderfully delicate designs on Kiki’s Delivery Service.“
Here are a couple of tweets that were shared:
Here are the story details from BBC:
The film is set in Japan during World War Two and centres around a young boy named Mahito whose mother is killed in a fire.
Shortly thereafter his father, who works in a factory producing fighter planes, marries his late wife's younger sister Natsuko, and moves the family to her large ancestral home in the countryside.
Mahito, who is resentful of Natsuko for taking his mother's place, begins to explore the area around the house and discovers a mysterious tower which he is told not to enter.
He also encounters a grey heron that can speak (as seen on the film's poster) who claims Mahito's mother is in fact alive and in the tower waiting to be rescued. Mahito dismisses this claim, but when his new stepmother disappears into the tower he decides to rescue her.
Once he enters, he is transported into an alternate world full of magic where his quest brings him into contact with new friends and enemies alike.
Are you excited about watching this movie!?