Hayao Miyazaki’s film “The Boy and the Crane” premieres in Portugal on November 9th – Observer

The film “The Boy and the Crane”, by director Hayao Miyazaki, presented as the latest from the Japanese animation masterwill premiere in Portugal on November 9th, distributor Outsider Films revealed this Friday.

This is Hayao Miyazaki’s first film in ten years, after having debuted “The Wings of the Wind” (2013). At the time, the filmmaker announced that he would retire, but ended up dedicating himself to another animated feature film, which is now considered farewell.

“The Boy and the Crane”, produced by Ghibli studios, premiered in Japanese cinemas on July 14th and is now starting to be shown outside of Japan, as the opening film at the Toronto Film Festival, earlier this month, and part of the program at the San Sebastian (Spain) and London festivals. The feature film by Miyazaki, 82 years old, is inspired by a work with the same title, published in 1937 by the author of children’s literature Genzaburo Yoshino.

Hayao Miyazaki’s latest film hits theaters without trailer or advertising

According to Variety magazine, the narrative is about a 15-year-old teenager, on a journey of spiritual maturity, discovery of poverty and the meaning of life, with the help of an uncle’s diary.

The film’s international circulation comes at a time when Ghibli Studios announced this week that it will become a subsidiary of the Japanese television station NTV, which acquired a 42.3% stake in the company. The studios, with which NTV already maintained a collaboration, retain artistic autonomy and Miyazaki remains honorary president of the television station.

One of the reasons given for this decision is related to the age of the founders of the emblematic Ghibli studios, as Miyazaki is 82 years old, producer Toshio Suzuki is 75 years old and filmmaker Isao Takahata died in 2018.

Goro Miyazaki, the director’s son and himself also an animated film author, was appointed as one of the successors at the studios, but he refused the leadership role of the producer and manager of all the cinematographic heritage released.

Hayao Miyazaki’s cinema, distinctive for the intersection between fantasy and reality, strongly marked by spirituality, nature and childhood, includes, among others, the films “My Neighbor Totoro” (1988), “Princess Mononoke” (1997) , “Spirited Away” (2001) — which won him an Oscar and a Golden Bear in Berlin —, “The Walking Castle” (2004) and “Ponyo by the Sea” (2008). He is also the author of television series such as “Conan, the boy from the future” and manga (Japanese comics), such as the “Nausicaa” series.