The Boy and the Heron

In war-torn Japan, a teenage boy is haunted by his mother's tragic death and must adjust to a new life with his stepmother, who bears a striking resemblance to his mother.

While the Second World War rages, the teenage Mahito, haunted by his mother’s tragic death, is relocated from Tokyo to the serene rural home of his new stepmother Natsuko, a woman who bears a striking resemblance to the boy’s mother. As he tries to adjust, this strange new world grows even stranger following the appearance of a persistent gray heron, who perplexes and bedevils Mahito, dubbing him the “long-awaited one.” (Source: Letterboxd)