In Mirai, a young boy named Kun finds his world is changed when his parents bring home a new baby, his little sister. His parents begin ignoring him. The baby gets all the attention. He begins feeling jealous. Then one day, he meets the future version of his sister who needs his help.
This is the first of several episodes in the funny, touching, emotional movie Mirai. In each episode, Kun meets a member of his family tree from the past (or future in the case of his sister) and learns more about his heritage and himself.
I was surprised how emotional I felt over this film. A tense scene with Kun and his mother brought back strong memories of childhood for me.
I feel like there's definitely a sense of wish fulfillment to this movie. Most of us have relatives we wish we could have met or old family photos we wish we could step into.
A few moments in the film feel kind of off. Whenever Kun first starts to enter the past or future, it can feel as though you are watching a child with a mental illness interact with their hallucinations. With all of the parent-child stuff, this felt more emotionally raw than, say, most Miyazaki films. (Granted, I haven't seen Grave of the Fireflies.)
I highly recommend this movie. It's the first film I've seen by director Mamoru Hosoda. If you are lucky enough to catch a rebroadcast in theaters, stay through the credits for an interview with Hosoda at the end. He talks about the importance of hand drawn art, the inspiration for the film, and why Mirai's intimacy actually makes it an epic.
