Mamoru Hosoda
Mirai may feel more like a series of vignettes thrown together rather than a cohesive whole, but Hosoda’s wondrous animation style, coupled with a personal look at family dynamics, makes it hard to resist.
Bakemono no Ko, translated as Monster’s Child, is making its English run under the name The Boy and the Beast. It is a gorgeous-looking film, but what separates it from the rest of the disposable moving images we’ve been subjected to this year is the grace with which it tells its story. I have been to the theaters a lot this year, but I have only been brought to tears a few times.