THE WIND RISES (4/5)

Imagine a sweet, delicate film, about the inventor of the most cruel killing machines
of the 20th century. Can you do it? What if we add that Hayao Miyazaki, that gave us
Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke, was behind it? Did it become easier to imagine?
Because that is what The Wind Rises, Miyazakis swan song, is. Nominated for an Oscar
for Best Animation Film (lost to Disneys Frozen), this may well be the most accessible and
down to earth film from Studio Ghibli, but still full of poetry and beautiful imagery so it will
not disappoint the usual fans, while welcoming new ones.
Based on Miyazakis own graphic novel, The Wind Rises tells us the story of Jir
Horikoshi from his childhood to the success of his plane design for the Zero bomber. It is
not strictly a biopic, as there are many fiction elements, but it is a beautiful historical
portrait of events such as the Tokyo earthquake, Japans poverty before the 2nd World
War, the tuberculosis epidemic and, of course, the development of military armory and the
tense relations between Japan, Germany and the Soviet Union.
But The Wind Rises does not try to be a History lesson. All that matters is its main
protagonist, Jiro, and after spending two hours following his journey, we do get very well
acquainted with him and his passion for aircraft. To see a film about building war planes by
Miyazaki, a self-proclaimed pacifist, may seem strange at first, but when we see the eyes
of Jiro light up when he gets to see the German all-metal airplane, we understand. After
all, Jiro is politically innocent as only one who lives above the ground can be. The war
gives him the strange chance of putting his dreams into reality at a time Japan is
economically broke, but that does not mean he wants war to happen. We just have to
agree with his imaginary mentor, the italian aircraft designer Caproni - Airplanes are
beautiful, cursed dreams, waiting for the sky to swallow them up. And Jiro soon realizes
how cursed other dreams can be, when his terrestrial love, Nahoko, falls sick with
tuberculosis.
There is a beauty and a truth to traditional animation, particularly Japanese style,
that no CGI can capture as well. The Wind Rises is a film for grown-ups, and shows once

more that the time when animation was only childs play - if there was ever such a time - is
definitely gone. Stunning palette, more than human characters, and a dreamy soundtrack
by Joe Hisaishi (who also composed for other Miyazakis films), makes the latest film of
Studio Ghibli a definite watch.
The Wind Rises will be in UK cinemas in 9th May.