Hayao Miyazaki is already 82 years old, but despite his multiple attempts to retire from filmmaking, he remains involved in one Studio Ghibli production after another. However, his upcoming project is shrouded in mystery, and we know very little about its plot, characters, and narrative.
The specific title of the film is “Kimi-tachi wa Do Ikiru ka,” translated to English as “How Do You Live?” The production has been in development for a staggering six years, and its release is scheduled for July 14th in Japan, making it Miyazaki’s twelfth film to be released.
A film shrouded in an aura of secrecy
However, despite having seen the small poster for the film, the distributor Toho, responsible for releasing Ghibli films, has announced that there will be no trailers, press releases, or promotional images.
The only thing they have revealed about the feature film is that it will be a “fantasy work with a youthful perspective,” and from the title, we can infer that it is an adaptation or at least references the 1937 juvenile novel by Genzaburo Yoshino. The manga adaptation of “Kimi-tachi wa Do Ikiru ka,” the latest major adaptation of this story, went viral in Japan in 2018, selling 2.3 million copies.
But what is the reason behind the secrecy surrounding the film? Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki explains it in an interview with Bungei Shunju: “An American film that will be released simultaneously with Japan this summer, Kimi-tachi wa Do Ikiru ka, released three separate trailers. When you watch them, you find out everything that will happen in the movie. I want to do exactly the opposite.”
Undoubtedly, the current oversaturation of Hollywood marketing often leads to arriving at a film and knowing exactly what will happen at every moment. In this way, Studio Ghibli wants to continue staying away from the industry, as it has been doing for decades, and surprise its audience with the magic of its cinema.
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