Kimitachi wa Dou Ikiru ka Episode 1 Discussion

Keeping in mind that this movie is different from other Ghibli movies (with purposely more symbolism in random scenes and unanswered questions to make you think/expand one's imagination) helped me better appreciate the film for what it is.

That said, there were some observations that I made which I hoped to discuss about.

(1) Mahito's deadpan face
Some viewers felt that Mahito was too emotionless to connect with as a character. But I think he was purposely made to be that way. A young boy in the 1940s, undergoing traumatic circumstances, but needing to obey his father and adapt to changes quickly without much time to feel/process his emotions (and certainly no therapy then) What else can you do but to harden your heart, have a deadpan face and a deadpan voice? So in that sense, it's pretty realistic. Some say he didn't stand out as a character as he didn't do anything heroic. I think that's the point as well, we are too used to having heroes in movies that we forget that even though we might be the protagonist of our own life, we may not be the most heroic either, and in that way, Mahito is relatable. Basically life still happens around you even if you don't do anything.

(2) When your Aunt becomes your stepmother
Some viewers think this is gross/weird but it's actually not uncommon in certain cultures and periods of time. The family inheritance and finances are kept within the same people this way and hence there are practical reasons. But of course, it strikes a wrong chord for us modern people today. Some also say it was weird that Mahito couldn't go into the delivery room of his own stepmother. I'm actually not surprised because in certain cultures there are a whole lot of superstitions, rituals and taboos around birthing.

(3) The pacing of the movie was slow at some parts, with an abrupt ending.
I also think that was the point and done on purpose.
The reason why the movie is slow is because they spent time developing certain scenes/scenery without much dialogue/progression in the story. It's similar to when you go on vacation and just take time to stare out into the distance taking in your surroundings, taking time to breathe, watching mundane things, feeling zen. I think that was the intended vibe. For the abrupt ending, I was also caught by surprise, but then I asked myself, how would I have ended the story differently? Leaving a movie open-ended leaves more room for imagination, interpretation amd thinking. Having unanswered questions causes a sense of dissonance in the viewer that causes them to continue to ruminate / discuss about the film even after it is over. Some say they should have shown a happy ending for closure, but I feel that it could have been lame to do so, because even though Mahito came to terms with Natsuko being his mother, that doesn't mean that everything will be happy ever after for him thereafter. Some say it's weird that he changed his mind about Natsuko, but on closer inspection, he was gradually changed because of the book he read, after seeing his (younger version) mother accept her fate, after striving to find & bring Natsuko back. Even so, the most he did was to call her "Natsuko Mother", he wasn't super chummy with her because they still had a long way to go in their relationship. Are we too used to getting happy endings for our own closure that we forget most people don't actually get a happy ever after and that's just part of life? We can only imagine what happened to Mahito and how he felt after this entire adventure.
What we do know is that the family was moving elsewhere for a new beginning, which brings the possibility of more adventures together.

(4) It's too deep for children (or even adults) to understand.
I think Miyazaki made this movie for his own sake. He knows that if he wants to make a movie the way he really wants to, it's now or never (given his age). I don't think he made this movie with as much intention to entertain his audience as to express himself and leave a piece of himself in the movie as an artwork. Afterall, he has been making movies for the sake of his audience for so many years. Creators sometimes feel pressured to give the audience what they want that they push back what they really want to make until it's too late. I guess it comes to a point when they just say "You know what? This is me. Take it or leave it." So this might just be the very essence of Miyazaki that we are seeing, unbridled by expectations, formats or common sense.

TLDR: It's best to calibrate your expectations for the movie in order to appreciate it.

This is a movie that is very much mirrors the experience I have when I read Goethe's Faust; a movie that def. requires an indepth knowledge of classic art and literature if you want to make sense of it all as just like with Faust the second part goes off the deep end into a very clandestine mix of several layers of symbolism and references to all kinds of classical works.

I expected all the wild references to Symbolism, Impressionism and a romantic Naturalism of the first half after the starting minutes that reminded me a bit of Cezanne, with the heron giving me some ETA Hoffmann vibes. However, I did not expect Miyazaki's wild multiverse isekai ride with monarchist (or proto fascist?) cannibal budgies in the second half. The entire Island of the Dead bit was a reference to Böcklin's famous 19th century painting and sure enough, there were allusions to Dali later. Also a good chunk of Dante's Divine Comedy and it makes sense, really: The main themes of life and death and the main question of how you want to live your life while coping with death are the main topics and the movie is obviously a big introspective about it as it's mainly Miyazaki asking himself those questions.

This movie filters a lot of people who lack this knowledge and I am also not sure if the vast layers of symbolism in the second half successfully merge into a cohesive whole - this requires more viewings and I only saw this movie in cinema yesterday. Miyazaki's portrayal of the war (or rather: lack thereof) in the movie might draw some criticism as well given that the perpetually underrated Porco Rosso was released over a quarter century ago, but this was not the main focus here - I understand the sentiment, though. However, it is def. a very ambitious and interesting movie and while I can understand how people might view it as pretentious; I am glad its not as "basic" as The Wind Rises. It's a good work to round out the oeuvre of one of the most prolific anime directors.

Now watch it lose to Elemental at the Oscars...

spiderverse 2 was robbed as expected.

I greatly enjoyed the animation, music, and overall design. However, I was slightly disappointed with the story. It felt as though it was based on a novel or manga, and that much of the content was skipped in order to fit the adaptation into an anime movie.

While the experience was overall enjoyable, the story itself was not as strong.

@JustMaya

The story is symbolical and abstract on purpose. It was never meant to be a regular movie with a begininig, a middle and an end.