Some films have grand themes and are told in a way that can be understood by people of all ages. Those stories are profound and great, with clear universal values and countless positive energies. Those universal animation films of truth, goodness and beauty, I have seen many, many, many... And some stories are only told to a small number of people. If those people understand the meaning of the story, it may be a story. A beautiful thing.
Kubo and Erxian Qin, before I knew the story, under my one-sided speculation, I guessed that this might be an ordinary children's inspirational book, I probably thought so. But when combined with the director and production company that produced this film, I guessed that this might be a bizarre allegory about death. But after I read this story, I am bold and sure that the protagonist in the story, the eleven-year-old boy Kubo, is the loneliest but strongest child in the world.
The story begins by saying that Kubo wants to tell a story, and please don't be half-hearted. His mother was a fairy in the sky, and because she fell in love with mortals, the moon god, his grandfather, was angered. Grandpa killed Kubo's father, and also wanted to goug out Kubo's eyes, so that he would not see the joy and life of the world. The tenacious mother took him to escape and finally returned to the world, but Kubo, who was still a baby, had one eye gouged out by his grandfather.
Then let's start retelling Kubo's story.
Eleven-year-old Kubo lives with his mother in a cave far away from the town. His mother needs his care because he is delirious. Kubo has two beloved toys, the paper figure Hanzo and the woodcarving Mr. Monkey. Kubo went down the mountain alone to tell stories to the people in the town to make money to support him and his mother. Every time he took the little paper man through a large golden wheat field to reach the village. There are many lovely residents in the town, among them A very kind old grandmother takes care of Kubo every time. Everyone also likes Kubo's stories, and his stories are all told to him by his mother. His mother told him that he must go home before the sun goes down. One day, the old grandmother told him that people were going to put out a river lantern, which could summon deceased relatives, so that he might be able to see his father. In the evening, Kubo came to the river, walked past the mourning people, walked to a stone, made a river lantern out of paper, and told his late father that the thorn on his body had Beetle-patterned clothes will fit in a few years, and now my mother can't tell the difference between reality and fantasy, and he may not be able to tell the difference sometimes. It was almost dark by this time, and Kubo forgot to go home. At this time, the mother's two younger sisters appeared in front of Kubo's eyes and wanted to goug out Kubo's eyes. Kubo ran away desperately. The mother hurriedly ran down from the mountain to protect Kubo and told him that he could only find the three parts of the armor left by his father. Defeat his grandfather. The mother transformed Kubo into a pair of wings to let him escape, leaving her alone to fight with her sisters, and her mother played the violin in her hand to make a burst of loud music. Then the world went blank.
The story ends here, well, I have probably guessed that Kubo's mother may have passed away. People in the town liked to hear Kubo's story very much, and when his mother died, he could no longer tell the story of General Hanzo. He needs an ending. For his mother's story, and for himself.
Kubo uses his child's imagination to tell us a less-than-perfect story, in which he connects his own story with that of his mother, that his parents were not killed in battle or sick, but Sacrifice while protecting him on his journey to find armor. Although he didn't realize his father and mother's love for him in reality, in his story, just like his origami, his father and mother turned into different appearances. One story is the beginning of another brand new story. They will never disappear.
What Kubo's only eye sees is not the pain and hatred in the world, but the joy and love that can only be experienced by human beings, just like his mother met his father back then, like the kind people in the town. In Kubo's mind, he carefully kept the memories of his father and mother. He knew that he had experienced the warmth of home, although Kubo had to walk alone on the next road.
The little lonely Kubo really told a great story.
View more about Kubo and the Two Strings reviews
