How Do You Live - the bucolic / horrifying world of Ghibli

[Bongo]

I watched The Boy and the Heron aka How Do You Live? today, managing to catch the last subtitled showing on any screen in town. This is by far Hayao Miyazaki's most complex and challenging film.

Unlike many of his other young protagonists, the stoic and troubled Mahito remains a mystery for much of the runtime, revealing very little of his interiority even as he behaves in shocking ways, so that learning how he feels about his whole situation is one of the film’s many evolving enigmas. And there’s certainly plenty of enigmas: if you take the advice of going in knowing nothing about the movie except who made it, as I did, you might not even know what genre of movie it is until nearly halfway through. The metaphor of the whole piece is so multifaceted, understated, and ambiguous that you’d hardly believe it got a wide release anywhere, let alone abroad; yet it’s so lightly and charmingly presented that you can let it all just wash over you, rather than feel a need to solve the puzzle in order to appreciate it.

Also, it's incredibly gorgeous.

 

[Bongo]

My first encounter with Ghibli is when I was two years old, and my mother, nostalgic for the time she had spent living in Japan, brought home a VHS with the old Fox dub of My Neighbor Totoro, which would go on to be a constant presence in my early childhood. Miyazaki's constant waffling about whether or not to retire has stymied my efforts to ensure she has a complete collection of Ghiblis. But it was great to have her there with me in the auditorium today.

 

[WisteriaHysteria]

Unlike many of his other young protagonists, the stoic and troubled Mahito remains a mystery for much of the runtime, revealing very little of his interiority even as he behaves in shocking ways, so that learning how he feels about his whole situation is one of the film’s many evolving enigmas.

I get this POV, and I think it's a common and expected one. And I think the film is structured in a way that it expects a lot of its audience to be in this boat, which is why it waits so long to have him express himself outwardly. But I think there is more than enough context clues in his actions and his body language from the earliest moments to guess what he feels and why:

The way he is slumped in the pedicab at the beginning like he doesn't want to be there. The respect and deference he still pays his parents and all of the other adults that are around, but in a way that lacks any joy or enthusiasm. The conflicted look on his face when people remark to him that his step-mom looks just like his deceased mother. The way he recoils when he accidentally snoops on his father showing physical affection for his step-mother. The way he finds quiet, and increasingly not-so-quiet ways to rebel against the social structures around him. His insistence on taking matters into his own hands instead of relying on all of the people doting around him. And then there's his self-inflicted wound. He never says directly why he did it, but all it takes is a little bit of empathizing why someone in his situation would do what he did. As he put it, it was an act of malice - not just to himself, but to others around him. If he came home with just muddy clothes, he might get a scolding. But if he came home with an injury, he would get a free pass. And given how excited his father seems to be about getting revenge - those kinds of core personality traits are observed by children and is probably a known quality to his son; he might get some retribution against the bullies this way. But also the self-harm aspect belies a deep loathing, self-hatred, and guilt of his powerlessness to do anything to help his mother in her time of need.

And then there's the book his mother leaves him: a quintessential children's book that the film is named after, that has been instructional for generations of Japanese children: imparting morals and philosophies of how to live one's life. It's the only time in the film where he weeps. And it's not just because of the sentiments this embodies of his deceased mother towards him, but because he knows the feelings he's felt and the actions he's taken have been wrong and would have greatly troubled his mother if she knew. Which really helps inform why he's so dead set on leading a righteous, chivalrous, moral life through the rest of the film. He knows what his mother would want from him and how she would want him to live his life, so he tries his hardest to live up to that expectation after that.

But yes to be sure, it's a contemplative film with a lot of layers to it. I really enjoy works like this that ask of me - as an audience member - to actively think and engage with the film. But I can understand and empathize if that's not going to be everyone's cup of tea. There are plenty of occasions where I'm not in the mood to take in such an experience.

 

[Bongo]

Sure, he's hardly unreadable or unsolvable. I just mean that, as a character, he doesn't wear his motivation on his sleeve.

 

[Violentvixen]

And then there's the book his mother leaves him: a quintessential children's book that the film is named after

Oh yeah, I forgot that it is a real book until now, we saw lots of signs for the book in stores in Japan and I didn't realize it wasn't related to the movie for a bit. Just looked and my library has it so going to check that out.

 

[Kiyone]

I thought it was like a C-. It was... adequate.

 

[Violentvixen]

How Do You Live won a Golden Globe for best animated film. It's the first non-English film to win that category which is not a huge surprise, but apparently this is the first Studio Ghibli film to win a Golden Globe?! I guess they're late to acknowledge anime in general but dang I really thought the studio had one before now.

Also it's only tangentially related, but I found out through NHK Easier, which I highly recommend if you're trying to learn Japanese. Much simpler words and there's a (clear and slow) spoken version of most articles at the bottom compared to NHK Easy or the original NHK articles. The easy one are much shorter but I've found it helpful.

 

[WisteriaHysteria]

It's the first non-English film to win that category which is not a huge surprise, but apparently this is the first Studio Ghibli film to win a Golden Globe?! I guess they're late to acknowledge anime in general but dang I really thought the studio had one before now.

If they're not going to win for Animated Feature Film, they're not going to win anything else. That entire category in award shows is used as a ghetto to quarantine animated films, because the boomers in control of these institutions don't take "cartoons" seriously, and this is their token appeasement to the handful of vocal critics who do take them seriously. It's the same mentality behind how "Cinematic and Box Office Achievement" is now being used to quarantine popular crowd pleasers like Marvel movies.

It's not just the first win, but the first nomination for a Ghibli film for the Golden Globes, which should tell you how serious they are as an institution. Snubbing the likes of When Marine was There, or Tales From Earthsea is understandable. But giving nominations to films like The Croods and Despicable Me over Princess Kaguya and The Wind Rises ought to tell you everything you should know about how they see animation as a medium.

 

[Violentvixen]

Oh hey How Do You Live? won an Oscar.

I re-watched The Wind Rises yesterday and reaffirmed that it's my favourite Ghibli film. One thing I had completely forgotten was that a lot of loud noises (earthquake, trains, plane engines) are made by human voices, not just sound effects. And the amount of non-static backgrounds in that movie is stunning, it's a beautiful but harsh movie.

Also after revisiting this thread I think The Wind Rises does a better job of addressing/evaluating the question of how to live than How Do You Live for me personally. I think I need a movie to be much more grounded and literal if its trying to tackle big questions like that.

 

[WisteriaHysteria]

Also after revisiting this thread I think The Wind Rises does a better job of addressing/evaluating the question of how to live than How Do You Live for me personally. I think I need a movie to be much more grounded and literal if its trying to tackle big questions like that.

How Do You Live poses the question of its title in a way for children to contemplate how to how they want to grow up and proceed with their futures. The Wind Rises is a meditative reflection of an old man and the regrets of a life wasted/a roadmap of what kind of mistakes to avoid when balancing your professional and personal life. Both contain profound wisdom, but depending on your current perspective in life, I can see one film's attempts at these similar themes would resonate more with a person than another.

 

[Issun]

How Do You Live poses the question of its title in a way for children to contemplate how to how they want to grow up and proceed with their futures. The Wind Rises is a meditative reflection of an old man and the regrets of a life wasted/a roadmap of what kind of mistakes to avoid when balancing your professional and personal life. Both contain profound wisdom, but depending on your current perspective in life, I can see one film's attempts at these similar themes would resonate more with a person than another.

You are selling Boy and the Heron so short it should be able to file a lawsuit.

 

[WisteriaHysteria]

There is obviously more going on in each film than what I described, and people of all ages can get a lot out of each one. But I do not think that is an unfair distillation of each film's modus operandi/core narrative intent.

 

[Issun]

I watched both films within a week of each other during a time of serious transition, and B&tH resonated more. I realize what you were trying to say, but they are both very mature works from an absolute master and I don't think one is more "grown up" than the other. Wind Rises deals with more real world responsibilities, sure, but the subsequent film is about the legacy you leave in life, and that hit harder for me.

 

[Issun]

No animosity directed your way, @WisteriaHysteria , I just have very strong opinions about Boy and Heron because October 2023-January 2024 was a major shift change in my life and that film helped me through that,

 

[Tomm Guycot]

I mean one of their titles is from a Japanese children's book

 

[WisteriaHysteria]

I'm not trying to undermine what you got out of both films personally. Just remarking/observing that - like the rest of his oeuvre - each of these films have targeted demographics their core messaging is meant to resonate with. And thus, many people will find themselves relating to the stories/characters more or less depending on the context of their own perspectives. Which feels like an abstract that we all ought to be able to agree on?

 

[Violentvixen]

I watched both films within a week of each other during a time of serious transition, and B&tH resonated more. I realize what you were trying to say, but they are both very mature works from an absolute master and I don't think one is more "grown up" than the other. Wind Rises deals with more real world responsibilities, sure, but the subsequent film is about the legacy you leave in life, and that hit harder for me.

I'm... really confused. Are you saying that media that is aimed at guiding children is inherently worth less? This post seems to be making tons of assumptions and jumps and I'm not following at all, especially since I interpret Wind Rises specifically to be about the legacy you leave and How Do You Live to be about directing future behaviour which you don't seem to agree with?

How Do You Live poses the question of its title in a way for children to contemplate how to how they want to grow up and proceed with their futures. The Wind Rises is a meditative reflection of an old man and the regrets of a life wasted/a roadmap of what kind of mistakes to avoid when balancing your professional and personal life. Both contain profound wisdom, but depending on your current perspective in life, I can see one film's attempts at these similar themes would resonate more with a person than another.

I'm not trying to undermine what you got out of both films personally. Just remarking/observing that - like the rest of his oeuvre - each of these films have targeted demographics their core messaging is meant to resonate with. And thus, many people will find themselves relating to the stories/characters more or less depending on the context of their own perspectives. Which feels like an abstract that we all ought to be able to agree on?

Yeah, I agree with this. Issun's post is making me think I'm missing something but from what I'm reading this is accurate and lovely.

 

[Pombar]

I saw it back in Jan and enjoyed it, though like some others here wouldn't put it on the top of the Miyazaki pile.

I didn't mind the mild mystery of figuring out the protagonist's intentions and inner world (at least until he reads the titular book and becomes Ashitaka-esque in his firm and correct morality), but I did think there were some pacing stumbles and an intrinsic clash between the world and the characters when we got to fantasyland - in that the world we are shown feels paper-thin, a theme park ride that doesn't seem to exist when the protagonist isn't there to see it, only being there to provide a new locale or challenge for him; but then we are introduced to two or three characters whose existence depends on them being permanent residents in this ephemeral dream-like world. Those two things seemed to work in conflict to one another, to me, and each undermine the other. This being unlike Spirited Away's fully realised world or Totoro's fully dreamlike presentation.

I felt like the nods to Miyazaki's own life in the first half strengthened its themes and gave it an earnest and intimate feel, and I still need to figure out how to interpret the seemingly strong Studio Ghibli parallels with the grandpa and the heron standing in for Takahata and Suzuki (the doomed search for a successor at least seems pretty clear!) but it's nice knowing there're such elements in there that can be interpreted variously.

 

[Issun]

I'm not trying to undermine what you got out of both films personally. Just remarking/observing that - like the rest of his oeuvre - each of these films have targeted demographics their core messaging is meant to resonate with. And thus, many people will find themselves relating to the stories/characters more or less depending on the context of their own perspectives. Which feels like an abstract that we all ought to be able to agree on?

Yeah, when you put it that way I see what you mean.