https://staging2.theplaylist.net/bfi-london-film-fest-review-wolf-children-director-mamoru-hosoda-returns-with-the-boy-and-the-beast-20151019/ Fri, 13 May 2016 12:35:17 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.2 https://staging2.theplaylist.net/bfi-london-film-fest-review-wolf-children-director-mamoru-hosoda-returns-with-the-boy-and-the-beast-20151019/#comment-79160 Fri, 13 May 2016 12:35:17 +0000 http://www.indiewire.com/2015/more/uncategorized/bfi-london-film-fest-review-wolf-children-director-mamoru-hosoda-returns-with-the-boy-and-the-beast-111138/#comment-79160 You have some good points there, but I\’ve got to discuss how important the father-son, master-apprentice relationship in the movie is so important. Firstly, this entire movie is about finding your identity through different paradigms (metaphorically and literally) and through vaarious personas from a number of different characters, even if they are sub characters or not. And since family and apprenticeship in Asian cultures branch off directly from the culture\’s root – collectivism, to not mention any of Ren/Kyuta\’s family and his journey as a teenager probably won\’t move the movie\’s primary audience – the Japanese people. Supposedly Ren/Kyuta magically found himself by just practising martial arts, other supporting characters will lose their value and role as the very elements that made Ren as who he becomes in the end. Rather, if the story went like so, it would have more of a superhero feel, not a coming-of-age narrative that explores common battles that every teenager faces in their lives.
To add to this opinion, Hosoda himself stated in an interview that he learnt a lot from his son, much like how Kumatetsu learns from young Ren. In fact, "Wolf Children" and "The Boy and the Beast" is somewhat based on his experience as a father, battling everyday with a small, wild, uncontrollable child and his feelings for his son. So it is undeniable that he spent time on Ren\’s confusion and resolution through gentler action, because that is what a father would hope his son to go through – a bumpy coming-of-age period with a smooth resolution.
I personally understood why each characters acted in certain ways – why Ren ran away, why Kumatetsu chose Ren in the first place. I understand there were no logical reasons given, but narratives don\’t always give you definite facts, else that would make a movie \’too easy\’ to watch. For example why are certain characters drawn to each other? It could be unconditional love, or because one saw itself in another and felt commonality.
Well, this is just my opinion, but I think the screenplay is becoming better and better every time Hosoda creates a film and I found literally no big flaws (maybe some minors here and there, but that\’s probably to do with taste).

]]> https://staging2.theplaylist.net/bfi-london-film-fest-review-wolf-children-director-mamoru-hosoda-returns-with-the-boy-and-the-beast-20151019/#comment-79161 Fri, 13 May 2016 12:35:17 +0000 http://www.indiewire.com/2015/more/uncategorized/bfi-london-film-fest-review-wolf-children-director-mamoru-hosoda-returns-with-the-boy-and-the-beast-111138/#comment-79161 Just for the record, Digimon: The Movie was pieced together for Western audiences from three different short films, only two of which were directed by Hosoda. The shorts were chopped up to form the movie, and if you watch them as they were originally intended, they show a director in total control of the formal and rhythmic elements of his films, despite the pokemon knockoff premises. Seriously, I would recommend checking them out if you like Hosoda\’s stuff.

]]> https://staging2.theplaylist.net/bfi-london-film-fest-review-wolf-children-director-mamoru-hosoda-returns-with-the-boy-and-the-beast-20151019/#comment-79162 Fri, 13 May 2016 12:35:17 +0000 http://www.indiewire.com/2015/more/uncategorized/bfi-london-film-fest-review-wolf-children-director-mamoru-hosoda-returns-with-the-boy-and-the-beast-111138/#comment-79162 You somehow spelled \’Director\’ wrong in the title of the article.

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