May 5: English Dubbed Version     May 6: Japanese with subtitles

Academy Award winner!

The legendary Hayao Miyazaki has returned to deliver one of his best, most imaginative and mature movies yet. The film follows Mahito, a boy struggling with the loss of his mother during a round of bombings in Tokyo. His father, an accomplished leader at an aircraft factory, brings him to a countryside estate that was passed down in his mother’s family. Mahito struggles with his new home and the new people in it, which is only made worse by a mysterious gray heron that stalks the grounds. Before long, the mystical elements of the movie make themselves known, and Mahito is led by the heron into an impossible tower, one that gives access to other eras and worlds. Mahito ventures into a bright and colorful underworld, determined to find his mother and restore order in his own life. Along the way, he and his incorrigible heron guide encounter familiar faces and strange foes. Miyazaki has crafted a soulful tale of maturing in the face of near-constant grief and strife. –Observer