The Boy and the Beast

“The Boy and the Beast” by Mamoru Hosada tells an extraordinary story in breathtakingly colourful images: Ren is an orphan boy living on the streets in Shibuya, the human world, because he has escaped from his foster parents’ home. One day he stumbles into a secret passage that leads to the fantastic Jutengai, the Beast Kingdom. Jutengai is in a state of turmoil because the lord has decided to retire and the time has come to choose a successor: only the best will qualify, and the two contenders Lôzen and Kumatetsu prepare for the contest. Wise and kind-hearted, Lôzen is naturally the city’s favourite; by contrast, Kumatetsu is feared by the city’s inhabitants because of his fickle moods and fits of temper. Only an apprentice could improve his standing and increase his chances of winning – so he decides to take in the renegade Ren and gives him a new name, Kyuta. Although mismatched at the beginning, things eventually calm down for the two impatient and irascible outsiders, and Kyuta proves to be a worthy apprentice. As a result, Kumatetsu’s popularity increases and everything seems to be ready for the major contest. But then Kyuta stumbles back into the human world, learns to read, finds a girlfriend and meets his biological father. From now on he is caught between the two worlds, until the moment he has to take a decision. It is a story about fathers and sons, apprentices and mentors, friendship and loneliness. In his film, Hosada strategically combines opposites and sets contrasts as well as profound juxtapositions. Producing a family story was a deliberate choice: not because it would be easy to put such a film on the market, but because he wants to tell the most touching true-life experiences. Using feudal Japan as a setting provides an adventurous, dynamic backdrop.

Voices: Koji Yakusho, Aoi Miyazaki, Shota Sometani