75
This unpolished film only runs for 70 minutes, but its reluctant subject — who repeatedly asks Arakawa why any of this is worth capturing on camera — unlooses enough despair to fill the pages of an epic Russian novel.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
60
The New York Times by Glenn Kenny
It’s never boring but a trifle diffuse. If you’re a Miyazaki fan, you’ll want to see it anyway.
50
The Hollywood Reporter by John DeFore
Though fans will enjoy the behind-the-scenes view, and anyone interested in creativity can appreciate watching a master attempt to expand his turf so late in life, the doc's narrow scope and aesthetic limitations make it a fans-only affair, certainly not a full-bodied account of this man's towering career.
75
Slant Magazine by Keith Watson
Kaku Arakawa's documentary is a candid snapshot of a great artist as an old man.
70
Los Angeles Times by Kenneth Turan
Starting as a dirge and ending as an ode to joy, Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki provides a privileged glimpse into the creative processes of one of the greatest animators who ever lived.
67
Austin Chronicle by Marc Savlov
Viewers unfamiliar with Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli’s extraordinary output over the years may find Never-Ending Man an exercise in tedium – the creation of an animated film, even a short one, is a famously slow and exceedingly precise process – but for those who, like me, adore his life’s work, it’s a precious and fascinating glimpse into the inner life of the world’s greatest living animator.
60
Had Arakawa widened the portrait just a bit to include other voices — whether artistic collaborators or the young audiences still just discovering his work — the film would easily have demonstrated how his legacy will live forever. Then again, it’s assumed that anyone watching “Never-Ending Man” knows that already.
80
Paste Magazine by Toussaint Egan
Never-Ending Man is an impressive documentary.