Few filmmakers are as enigmatic and revered as Hayao Miyazaki, the powerhouse animator behind Studio Ghibli films such as “My Neighbor Totoro” (1988), “Spirited Away” (2001) and, most recently, “The Boy and the Heron” (2023). Equally rare is the level of access documentary filmmaker Kaku Arakawa has had to this anime icon over the past two decades.
Arakawa’s latest work, “Hayao Miyazaki and the Heron,” is his fourth documentary centered on Studio Ghibli and the man behind it, and it offers an unflinching and intimate look at Miyazaki as the now-octogenarian auteur grapples with his legacy, personal mortality and the herculean challenge of creating a masterpiece that could very well be his swan song.
First aired by national broadcaster NHK in 2023 and re-edited for its Cannes premiere last year, “Hayao Miyazaki and the Heron” is currently available to audiences outside of Japan on streaming services such as Max, Amazon Prime and Netflix.
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