Why Hayao Miyazaki's How Do You Live Released With No Trailers
It's been 10 years since Hayao Miyazaki's last feature film, "The Wind Rises" — a gentle portrait of aeronautics engineer Jiro Horikoshi whose plane creations were used in Pearl Harbor (it would make an interesting pairing with the latest release "Oppenheimer"). Now, Miyazaki's final film will release in 2023, an adaptation of Genzaburo Yoshino's 1937 novel "How Do You Live?" which will be titled "The Boy and the Heron" in the US.
/Film writer Witney Seibold says the novel, which revolves around a 15-year-old boy and his uncle, "unfolds through a series of conversations and diary entries that cover ethics and philosophy. The title is a central existential query directed toward the audience." The IMDb short summary for the film reads: "Through encounters with his friends and uncle, follows a teenage boy's psychological development. He enters a magical world with a talking grey heron after finding an abandoned tower in his new town."
Everything else — a more detailed explanation of the plot, still images, full cast, etc. — has been shrouded in mystery. The only marketing consists of a sketch that appears to be a bird-like man wearing a helmet, but it's hard to tell exactly. Kokatu reports that there will be no additional still images or trailers released. Studio Ghibli has its reasons for being so tight-lipped, which only builds our anticipation for Hayao Miyazaki's final movie even more.
Relying on Miyazaki's reputation
In a video interview shared on Kokatu, "How Do You Live?" producer Toshio Suzuki reveals why Studio Ghibli limited marketing for their new film: "You get tired of doing the same thing over and over. We wanted to try something new this time." Also, the studio did not want Hollywood trailers to spoil important plot points, and they figured anyone who was interested in seeing "How Do They Live?" doesn't need a trailer to convince them.
For any other filmmaker, such minimal advertising would be risky, but Hayao Miyazaki is a visionary and his work is consistently spellbinding. Whatever "The Boy and the Heron" explores, it's sure to include Miyazaki's extraordinary trademarks: intricate hand-drawn animation, ethereal worlds, imaginative and resilient characters, and morally complex narratives.
"The Boy and the Heron" will be the first animated film to open the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2023. The festival describes the film as a "staggering work of imagination" and "a singular, transformative experience." We are counting down the days to finally see Hayao Miyazaki's last chapter on screen.