How Do You Live?, Miyazaki’s Last Ghibli
While he was supposed to be retired for a couple of years, it was in 2016 that the renowned Hayao Miyazaki indicated that he was working on a new film. A priori, it should be his last feature film but with the director nothing is ever sure. The co-founder of Ghibli studios is indeed having a hard time withdrawing and this is not the first time that he has announced the arrival of his latest film… before unveiling a new one a few years later. But let’s close the parenthesis and come back to this film which was released on July 14 in Japanese theaters.
Kimi-tachi wa dō ikiru ka (a priori How do you live? in French) is an animated film which is very strongly inspired by the novel by Genzaburō Yoshino released in the 1930s, And you, how will you live? But beware, this is not an adaptation in the strict sense of the term. Miyazaki took liberties with the original work in order to make it a more personal story. According to producer (and Miyazaki sidekick for many years) Toshio Suzuki, How do you live? is a kind of testament film made by Miyazak for his grandson in order to make him understand that “his grandfather is leaving soon for another world but leaves this film behind because he loves it”. As for the synopsis, we only knew that this “fantastic tale” tells the story of a young boy who left his hometown after the death of one of his parents. A terrible event that will profoundly change the young boy, spiritually speaking. For the rest, How do you live? which received very little promotion, remained a very mysterious work for a long time. But thanks to its release in Japan and the first reactions, we finally know more about the latest Miyazaki.
Mixed feedback
As explained to BFMTV Pierre-William Fregonese, associate researcher at the department of contemporary art at Kyoto University of the Arts, this new film is “halfway between an inverted Totoro and Narnia”. We therefore follow the story of Mahito who leaves for the countryside with his father following the death of his mother in a tragic fire. In his new home, he meets a heron who will take him to a fantastic world that is nevertheless closely linked to reality. There, he will indeed learn a little more about the mysterious death of his mother and the history of his family. So we end up with a very autobiographical work, similar to what we expect from a testament film. But still according to Pierre-William Fregonese, “the strengths and weaknesses are more of a first film than a testament film”.
Indeed, according to the first returns, the film signs an extremely original beginning. But according to journalist and film student Matteo Watzky, the first half hour then gives way to a disappointing narrative by comparison: “after the first viewing and a little thought, I find it hard to really like it {…} For me, these 30 minutes, isolated from the rest, might be his best film. Then we move on to a more ‘classic’ fantasy film, which for once is typical Miyazaki.” This is obviously a little due to the division into two very distinct parts of the film, which left some unsatisfied. Despite its original side from the beginning, How do you live? will therefore not really disorient the director’s fans. As English teacher Valeriia Matveeva pointed out, it’s about “a crazy mix of all the Ghibli movies I’ve watched so far” with the advantages and disadvantages that this entails. “When you’ve seen Spirited Away, you know exactly how it’s going to play out. I also find that Spirited Away remains superior in terms of history. There, we have a little feeling of copying and pasting in a very dark universe” deplores the journalist Nicolas Cailleaud.
Julien Bouvard, lecturer in language and civilization of contemporary Japan at Lyon 3 University for BFMTV
And at the same time, according to many spectators, How do you live? seems to be one of those works so rich in winks and details that it is difficult to assimilate them all from the first viewing. According to them, this is a film that needs to be watched several times to be fully understood. “It is a film apart and ultra-referenced. Its more Western and its more Japanese. Foreign references are taken and reshaped. For example, the seven dwarfs of Snow White become seven caring grandmothers, or even Alice in Wonderland but with a boy who chases a Japanese heron” explains Pierre-William Fregonese before concluding, “not his best, but it’s still a must, as Miyazaki leans on and breaks his own codes at the same time.” As you will have understood, the last Miyazaki may well not leave you indifferent, for better or for worse. It only remains to wait for a release with us to be able to form our own opinion.