Kubo and the Two Strings concerns young Kubo (Art Parkinson), a one-eyed boy living in a cave with his nearly catatonic mother (Charlize Theron). Every day, he goes down to the village to tell stories, using his shamisen and some magical origami to bring his tales to life. He is instructed to get back to the cave before dark, lest the evil forces pursuing Kubo and his mother find them. But one night Kubo does stay out too late, and he is attacked by his very dangerous aunts. His mother sacrifices herself to get him to safety and instructs him to find the legendary armor that will protect him from the evil yet to come.
The film starts quietly, studying the melancholy of life in the cave with Kubo and his mother. Kubo wakes up to find paper scattered all over. He prepares breakfast, wakes up his mother, and tries to feed her. He makes origami, to try to get a reaction out of her but gets nothing in return. Right from the start, the film sets a very distinct tone. It's deliberate and weighty, every shot adding to the overall feeling of sadness that will come to permeate this film. This is a film that is ultimately about loss. It is about the understanding that a story doesn’t end with someone’s passing.
This is a story about stories. It is about why we tell stories, about how people can be redeemed in their telling. And the way it tells its story is pretty sophisticated. The film moves forward breathlessly, rarely bothering to stop to explain things. It trusts the viewer to catch up and to be caught up in the emotions being put forth at any given moment. This is made possible by the incredible level of visual storytelling at play. The film builds a world through its images, and the compositions convey narratives of their own.
And what visuals they are. This is the latest film from Laika, which means this is a stop-motion animated affair. And the film is remarkable from frame to frame. The animation is breathtaking, the effort put into every image evident at every moment. It goes all the way to the smallest details, like the way that Kubo's origami creatures rapidly fold and unfold when they're moving quickly. Or the way the light falls on the characters as the sun slowly sets. There is so much to discover, and the film seems to grow richer the deeper you dig in.
The film's action scenes are also pretty well put together. The sword fighting is actually pretty thrilling, and the occasional encounter with a giant monster is equally great. But this is not a film about fighting. It is about stories, and the film bears that out. A strong voice cast helps put the narrative forward. Art Parkinson is quite moving as Kubo, his performance hinting at the deep pain that lies beneath the childish exterior. Charlize Theron and Matthew McConaughey share ample vocal chemistry as the two side characters that accompany Kubo on his journey.
Kubo and the Two Strings is magical. It is wonderful. It is all the other words one might want to attach to an animated film. It displays a level of craft far beyond what the standards of mainstream cinema. And it tells a story that refuses to talk down to its audience. It confronts its hero with real challenges, hurting him on the inside as well as the outside. And in doing so, it tells a story of what it really means to be strong, of how a story can be more powerful than a sword, and a memory more potent than all the magic in the world.
My Rating:
