Mirai - Das Mädchen aus der Zukunft

After the mediocre mistep of The Boy and the Beast, the brilliant Mamoru Hosoda returns reasonably to form with Mirai.

While Hosoda's previous movies all fell solidly in the fantasy genre, this one is somewhat different. The fantastical elements are all in a young boy's mind, and the movie charts the way he processes the real world through wildly imaginative interludes.

Episodic and slight, Hosoda hasn't quite reached the heights of Wolf Children or Summer Wars, but he has made an absolutely lovely, beautifully animated, funny and touching movie.

'Mirai (2018)' is a bit of an odd mix of straight-up realism and surrealist fantasy, with its time-travelling interludes feeling sort of out of place amongst the otherwise almost 'kitchen sink' aesthetic. It's never made clear whether or not the time-hopping is real or imagined; though the hero seems to travel to accurately presented time periods he can't possibly have knowledge of, his trips also don't have tangible consequences outside of his own character arc (aside from, perhaps, on one occasion). Because the thing is told entirely from the perspective of a four-year-old boy (a relatively unique protagonist for a feature film to have), the blending of fantasy and reality is actually rather pertinent. Whether or not it's real is irrelevant, as its mechanics are far less important than its thematic resonance. The movie's final movement, which makes full use of its otherworldly elements, is genuinely rather beautiful. It's by far the best segment of the film, hitting a raw emotional nerve in a rather poignant way. The rest of the picture is pretty inconsistent, though it's always generally enjoyable. There are a number of strange stylistic choices and the plot is a bit uneven. However, it's typically charming. Plus, the animation is generally pleasing, even if some 3D models are more obvious than they ought to be, and the voice acting is pitch perfect. The piece does an excellent job of portraying the realities of temper tantrums, attention seeking and the otherwise far-too-loud actions that come with small children; at times, it's almost as stressful to watch as it must be to experience. It's really realistic, though. It's strange that one of the best representations of what it's like to have two small children comes in a film in which one of those kids can seemingly travel through time. Though the protagonist is sometimes stubborn and, in all honestly, incredibly annoying (not to mention loud), the flick does a good job of reminding you of his age. He doesn't feel emotionally mature, which is appropriate, and the movie ultimately does a good job of making you care about him - perhaps precisely because he isn't portrayed as a perfect kid (which, as we all know, doesn't really exist). The film is rather endearing overall. It's a distinct and enjoyable experience despite its few flaws. Its ending is genuinely touching, too. 7/10.

Mirai tells the story of Kun, the first child of a young married couple who lives in Japan. Kun gets all the love from his parents until one day, they return home with their newborn daughter. Not getting the same attention as he used to, Kun becomes jealous with her sister and starts doing naughty things just to get his parents to notice him. However, they are so busy with work and the new baby that Kun feels like he was abandoned. Until one day, he finds his dog turned into a grown-up man and is greeted by none other than his sister, Mirai, who comes from the future and is now a teenage girl. From that day on, Kun experiences different events that happen both in the future and the past and are some how related to his family from generation to generation. Kun is the main character of the movie and director Mamoru Hosoda has shown that he understands children really well through the emotions and the mind, specifically the imagination of Kun. The movie is simply the story of a family's daily life that is told through the eyes of a 4 years old child and the process of how that child can become a loving son and a loving brother. The narrative of the movie is just like the way Mirai Mirai (Mirai is the name of his sister which means future in Japanese) told his brother about how their family came to be through those little things that happen every day in our lives. Mirai is a film that shows you how wonderful a child can be, and although Kun is very jealous with his newborn sister, deep down inside he loves her very much.

This film tells the story of a young child who experiences sibling rivalry, after the arrival of his little baby sister.

The emotions of all family members, especially the child's, are conveyed effectively. The Oriental concept of family is presented without being too preachy or suffocating. I enjoyed it.

Director Mamoru Hosoda is up there as one of the brightest talents in modern anime, having brought us gems like Summer Wars, Wolf Children and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. For me, Mirai unfortunately isn't his greatest work, largely due to poor pacing throughout the first two acts, as well as the seeming lack of depth and introspection compared with his other films, which proves extremely frustrating up until the excellent final act, which eventually helps Mirai come good.

Before we get into that, however, I will say that Mirai is a fairly enjoyable film right the way through. Far more family-friendly than Hosoda's previous works, it has the quirky charm of some of the lightest Ghibli movies, and with that effortlessly beautiful animation throughout, it's hard not to find yourself smiling from time to time.

With a young boy as the film's main character, I'm sure that younger viewers will have a wonderful time with Mirai, as a lot of its central themes focus on those that those even as young as four or five years old can relate to, as we see Kun, the young boy, find himself frustrated and jealous as his parents turn their attention to his newborn baby sister.

It's a pleasant story throughout, and unless you're averse to hearing children screaming (because there is quite a lot of that here), it keeps you engaged and entertained right the way through. However, in comparison to Hosoda's previous works, there's nowhere near as much depth of emotion in Mirai, and its central themes come off as a little simplistic, which can be disappointing if you're expecting something a little bit more captivating.

Certainly, we've all been through that feeling of jealousy much like young Kun, but for older viewers, it's a theme that's a little too far back and simplistic to really provide a deep emotional impact. Of course, it's an enjoyable story nonetheless, but over the course of the film's first two acts, I found myself rather underwhelmed that the plot wasn't going anywhere beyond that simple line of focus.

What's more is that those first two acts move at a painfully jittery pace, as we flip between the present, and Kun's various adventures to eras past and future as he visits his relatives through time. In all truth, Mirai doesn't do a good enough job at tying those two parts of the story together, and although there are clear emotional parallels between the past, present and future, the way that the film transitions between those two main parts of the story is rather jagged and abrupt, which proves hugely frustrating as you look for some sort of flow in the film.

Fortunately, while I can't say I was all too impressed by the first two acts, the film's final vignette proves a stunning conclusion, finally bringing about the depth of emotion and sense of wonderment that everything before was so disappointingly lacking in.

For one, seeing a young boy effectively travelling through time should inspire an incredible sense of wonderment and awe, yet the first two acts seem strangely normal in their presentation of this. However, in that final act, we see Kun transported to a world filled with bizarre and dazzling things, and as he becomes more and more aware of his situation, the gravity and emotion of what he's going through finally hits home for you too.

As I said earlier, the film's central theme is a little simplistic compared to what Hosoda has brought in the past, however, come the finale, he finally crafts a scenario that allows the raw emotion and drama of what the story is about, and with an equal improvement in the screenplay's depth, Mirai comes to a stunning and moving conclusion.

Overall, then, I found Mirai a little bit of a mixed bag. Starting off in rather underwhelming fashion with a jittery and underwhelming first two acts, it does eventually come good with an exceptional finale that finally brings about some strong emotion and drama. It is still a pleasant and enjoyable film throughout, and it's undoubtedly more family-friendly than any of Hosoda's other films, so while it's not perfect, it's definitely still worth the watch.