Prized creator Hayao Miyazaki has emerged unexpectedly from retirement to gift the world with a new film called "The Boy and the Heron". After 2013's "The Wind Rises", many considered Miyazaki's career ended, yet he had another tale to tell. Blending facets from his own life and interests, he presents us with a mesmerizing fable that effortlessly merges a child’s heroic journey with a poignant farewell from an aging man. It’s an astonishingly beautiful reflection that consolidates Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli’s global impact and voice.

The film chronicles the story of 12-year-old Mahito Maki, who is propelled into rural life with a distant father, Shoichi, and a new pregnant mother, Natsuko, following his mother’s tragic demise in a Tokyo hospital fire. Mahito is filled with pain and sorrow, haunted by dreams of his lost mother, and even succumbs to a brief period of self-harm. The movie depicts Mahito's journey towards understanding that beauty and pain are two sides of the same coin, wrapped in a lesson about moving away from selfishness.

"The Boy and the Heron" stretches beyond a conventional storyline and explores a world filled with wonderful yet bizarre creatures, as Mahito follows a heron to a mysterious tower that links to his family’s past. In this fantastical realm, even though the tale defies linear logic, the emotional undertones resonate clearly.

Close to Miyazaki’s heart, "How Do You Live?", a Japanese novel by Genzaburo Yoshino, makes a cameo in the film, mirroring the foundations of memory upon which the movie is built. The elements of the plot allude to Miyazaki’s personal life- his father’s role in warplane production, his family’s war-time evacuation, and his mother’s untimely death when he was a teenager. "The Boy and the Heron" mirrors the parallels between Mahito’s story and Miyazaki’s life, with every character appearing as a whimsical version of someone from the real world.

Every Ghibli film brings a promise of visual splendor, and "The Boy and the Heron" is no exception, presenting an emotive score by Joe Hisaishi and captivating imagery. The narrative demands persistence and rewards the audience with heartrending final scenes. It advises us that genuine maturity is found in accepting reality’s pain over the allure of a fantasy world. Miyazaki doesn’t coax us to dwell in his animated worlds, but to find solace in our own. His worlds, however, are always there for us, reminding us how to meet the challenges of life.

Brian Tallerico, currently serving as the Managing Editor of RogerEbert.com, is associated with covering diverse areas such as television, film, Blu-ray, and video games. He is known for his contributions to The New York Times, GQ, The Playlist, Vulture, and he also presides over the Chicago Film Critics Association.