We are two days away from Japanese master Hayao Miyazaki’s “How Do You Live?” being released in Japan.
As you might already know, Studio Ghibli has decided to not release any promotional material for the film, no trailer, no plot synopsis and no images, this also means that it hasn’t even been screened for press.
Everyone in Japan will be able to watch the film on Friday. It might have a premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September, but that’s still all up in the air. A fall release, via GKids studios, seems to be the plan for this one.
Obviously, I’ll be looking out for the Japanese reviews on Friday, I’m guessing, given Miyazaki’s track record, that it’ll be good. Even after it’s Huky 14th release, Ghibli will not unveil any images of the film.
It’s an unusual marketing campaign, but I kind of like it. It brings back the sense of discovering a film for yourself, with a fresh set of eyes, and without the added crux of being told what it is supposed to be.
What we do know is that “How Do You Live?” has a hand drawn poster to its name and that it is 125 minutes long. You can check out the poster for yourself here.
In 2013, Miyazaki said he was retiring and that his last film would be the bittersweet WWII drama “The Wind Rises.” That retirement was clearly short-lived. Now in his 80s, he’s back for, maybe, one last film.
We had reported last October that “How Do You Live” was nearing its completion and a 2023 release date was being eyed. The film is a very loose adaptation of a novel that has long influenced Miyazaki — he’s even cited it as his favorite childhood read.